TheDuckRocks
02-18-2008, 11:42 AM
I just wanted to do a very brief review of our recent dining adventures at WDW and I’m sorry but this just kept growing. There were 6 of us in total myself, my hubby, our daughter, our son-in-law, our grandson 12 and granddaughter 10. We were all on the 2008 regular DDP (no appetizer and no tip). This was a first time visit to WDW for my daughter’s family,
With pre-planning and sharing meals at times and paying out of pocket for the least expensive meals, here’s what we were able to do.
Table Service:
* Ohana – The food here was very good and I’m happy that we got to enjoy the shrimp from the grill. The kids had a great time with the coconut races. The favorite of everyone was the bread pudding, we even asked for seconds. The only negative thing was our waitress telling us repeatedly that the tip was an automatic 18% for a party of 6 but we could add more to the bill. Pretty pushy.
Boma – Well, I’m not sure what the deal was here the food has either gone down in quality, we hit a bad night or my DH and I have burned ourselves out coming here. I can’t fault any one thing but it didn’t seem as good as usual. My DD told me that they couldn’t understand why we and other friends have been raving about Boma. Unfortunately I had to agree. Once again the waitress pointedly told us that an additional tip could be added to the bill. Then when we opened the bill she had printed out a little poem type thing about hoping she had enriched our dining experience, that she was wishing us well in life and that she thanked us for our generosity. I’m sorry but to me that just crossed some kind of line. I wish I would have kept the thing so I could quote it exactly.
* Liberty Tree Tavern – I’m happy to say that this place never fails to provide a lot of good food that reminds you of going to grandma’s house for Sunday dinner. Two thumbs up for us this time….. we asked for seconds of salad.
* Mama Melrose – Fantasmic! Dinner Package – What a pleasant surprise, when you use the DDP for the dinner package an appetizer is included with your meal. Once again we had a great meal, the food was excellent, our waiter was wonderful and the Sangria is refreshing. A word of warning for the wimps among us the Italian sausage with pasta dish I had was very spicy, I loved it but it was hot.
* San Angel Inn – Call me crazy but I’ve never had a bad meal at SAI. I know that they get very mixed reviews, the food is not what you get at our local Mexican restaurant, they are very pricey but we’ve always enjoyed our meal. Or maybe it has something to do with the margarita……no, no that’s not right.
* Coral Reef – This was the absolute dining highlight of our entire trip. After hearing so many mixed reviews for Coral Reef I’ve always put off going there. It just goes to prove what I’ve always felt that when someplace sounds like you might like it….to give it a shot. You just might get a very happy surprise and if it’s a bad experience what’s one meal in your life time, certainly not enough to get terribly upset with. Just never go back there again. My DGD and I shared a NY Strip Steak which was also what my DSIL ordered. At 12-oz I knew that it would be plenty for the 2 of us. Everyone else ordered the King crab legs. Before the entrees we ordered salads or soup for everyone OOP. No one was disappointed and later when we were talking about what was our favorite meal Coral Reef came in as number 1 with everyone. The only mild complaint I have is that the restaurant is very loud. The service we received was wonderful and the kids had great time “fishing” for all the different things in the tank, it made the time until the food was served fly by.
1900 Park Fare – Cinderella was whiney, Prince Charming was a dud, the food was just so-so, the room they hold this in is over lighted and boring and the service was almost non-existent. Obviously this will not ever be on a repeat list for us.
* Sci Fi Dine In – Once again this is another very mixed reviews place, but we have always gotten good food, attentive service and good heavens you sure can’t beat the atmosphere. My DH and I did get in trouble from our DD for necking in the back seat. It was only done as a visual aid when she asked me if people really did go to see movies that are so obviously bad. I can not understand why she got so up tight, you’d think she was my mother or something.
* Tutto Italia – After our disappointment with the closing of Alfredo’s we were very happy to find Tutto Italia wonderful. This meal was just my DH and me as the rest of the group left for home and we were staying one more night before going on a 4 night Disney cruise. We liked everything about this new restaurant from the weeding out of some of the tables so you have more room to the yummy food to the friendly wait staff. I knew we were off to a good start when the bread basket came with the best ever bread sticks. Our appetizers of Prosciutto di Parma and Fresh Mozzarella did not disappoint. I got Trofie and my DH Bucatini Gratinati for our entrees. I must say though mine was good what he got was absolutely the winner and it was so large that next time we will split it. Dinner ended with Mocha Tiramisu for DH and blood orange Sorbetti for me a prefect end to a perfect meal. When we went to leave it was pouring down rain and one of the waiters came over to us and found us a place to sit and wait until the deluge ended. Now that is truly going above and beyond in customer service.
Continued below........
With pre-planning and sharing meals at times and paying out of pocket for the least expensive meals, here’s what we were able to do.
Table Service:
* Ohana – The food here was very good and I’m happy that we got to enjoy the shrimp from the grill. The kids had a great time with the coconut races. The favorite of everyone was the bread pudding, we even asked for seconds. The only negative thing was our waitress telling us repeatedly that the tip was an automatic 18% for a party of 6 but we could add more to the bill. Pretty pushy.
Boma – Well, I’m not sure what the deal was here the food has either gone down in quality, we hit a bad night or my DH and I have burned ourselves out coming here. I can’t fault any one thing but it didn’t seem as good as usual. My DD told me that they couldn’t understand why we and other friends have been raving about Boma. Unfortunately I had to agree. Once again the waitress pointedly told us that an additional tip could be added to the bill. Then when we opened the bill she had printed out a little poem type thing about hoping she had enriched our dining experience, that she was wishing us well in life and that she thanked us for our generosity. I’m sorry but to me that just crossed some kind of line. I wish I would have kept the thing so I could quote it exactly.
* Liberty Tree Tavern – I’m happy to say that this place never fails to provide a lot of good food that reminds you of going to grandma’s house for Sunday dinner. Two thumbs up for us this time….. we asked for seconds of salad.
* Mama Melrose – Fantasmic! Dinner Package – What a pleasant surprise, when you use the DDP for the dinner package an appetizer is included with your meal. Once again we had a great meal, the food was excellent, our waiter was wonderful and the Sangria is refreshing. A word of warning for the wimps among us the Italian sausage with pasta dish I had was very spicy, I loved it but it was hot.
* San Angel Inn – Call me crazy but I’ve never had a bad meal at SAI. I know that they get very mixed reviews, the food is not what you get at our local Mexican restaurant, they are very pricey but we’ve always enjoyed our meal. Or maybe it has something to do with the margarita……no, no that’s not right.
* Coral Reef – This was the absolute dining highlight of our entire trip. After hearing so many mixed reviews for Coral Reef I’ve always put off going there. It just goes to prove what I’ve always felt that when someplace sounds like you might like it….to give it a shot. You just might get a very happy surprise and if it’s a bad experience what’s one meal in your life time, certainly not enough to get terribly upset with. Just never go back there again. My DGD and I shared a NY Strip Steak which was also what my DSIL ordered. At 12-oz I knew that it would be plenty for the 2 of us. Everyone else ordered the King crab legs. Before the entrees we ordered salads or soup for everyone OOP. No one was disappointed and later when we were talking about what was our favorite meal Coral Reef came in as number 1 with everyone. The only mild complaint I have is that the restaurant is very loud. The service we received was wonderful and the kids had great time “fishing” for all the different things in the tank, it made the time until the food was served fly by.
1900 Park Fare – Cinderella was whiney, Prince Charming was a dud, the food was just so-so, the room they hold this in is over lighted and boring and the service was almost non-existent. Obviously this will not ever be on a repeat list for us.
* Sci Fi Dine In – Once again this is another very mixed reviews place, but we have always gotten good food, attentive service and good heavens you sure can’t beat the atmosphere. My DH and I did get in trouble from our DD for necking in the back seat. It was only done as a visual aid when she asked me if people really did go to see movies that are so obviously bad. I can not understand why she got so up tight, you’d think she was my mother or something.
* Tutto Italia – After our disappointment with the closing of Alfredo’s we were very happy to find Tutto Italia wonderful. This meal was just my DH and me as the rest of the group left for home and we were staying one more night before going on a 4 night Disney cruise. We liked everything about this new restaurant from the weeding out of some of the tables so you have more room to the yummy food to the friendly wait staff. I knew we were off to a good start when the bread basket came with the best ever bread sticks. Our appetizers of Prosciutto di Parma and Fresh Mozzarella did not disappoint. I got Trofie and my DH Bucatini Gratinati for our entrees. I must say though mine was good what he got was absolutely the winner and it was so large that next time we will split it. Dinner ended with Mocha Tiramisu for DH and blood orange Sorbetti for me a prefect end to a perfect meal. When we went to leave it was pouring down rain and one of the waiters came over to us and found us a place to sit and wait until the deluge ended. Now that is truly going above and beyond in customer service.
Continued below........