Honest Feedback

[KAT1811]

Okay, now that we have locked down dates and a resort I am moving onto dining. Here is what I have planned so far. I am looking for honest feedback and opinions regarding my choices. Good or bad I can handle it!

Friday 11/7 - Arrive late

Saturday 11/8 - Day by the pool and then dinner at Portobello Yact Club in DTD.

Sunday 11/9 - DD#3's 2nd birthday! :party: Day in Epcot with dinner at Tutto Italia.

Monday 11/10 - Day at Disney's Hollywood Studios then back to the hotel for dinner at 1900 Park Fare.

Tuesday 11/11 - DD#2's 4th birthday. Breakfast at the Crystal Palace. BBB for DD in the afternoon/early evening. Head back to the resort with DD#3 for a nap then to MVMCP at night.

Wednesday 11/12 - Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach by day. Dinner at California Grill at night.

Thursday 11/13 - Day at Animal Kingdom. Breakfast at Donald's Safari Breakfast.

Friday 11/14 - Day at Epcot. Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse.

Saturday 11/15 - Pool / Water Park by day. Dinner at 'Ohana at night.

Sunday 11/16 - Day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Dinner at Mama Melrose's.

Monday 11/17 - Day at Magic Kingdom. Breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

Tuesday 11/18 - Breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe. Head home early evening.

[irish1967]

Here are my comments on the restaurants I have been to or have heard about from people I know well.

Yachtsman Steakhouse - I really like Yachtsman Steakhouse and quite frankly think it is better than Le Cellier

Dinner at 'Ohana - haven't had dinner at 'Ohana but really enjoy breakfast there.

Mama Melrose's - it has been several years since we have eaten at Mama Melrose's. I've always liked it but when it came time to chose this year, my brother strongly suggested Tony's over Mama Melrose's - he said that the last couple of times he has been there neither service nor food was very good.

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's - great way to start the day. I think the character interaction is great. I really think the food is good for a buffet.

Grand Floridian Cafe - ??? looking forward to peoples opinions. Will be eating dinner there in July.

Sounds like a great trip!

[RockinRollerMom]

I ate at Grand Floridian Cafe on my last trip. I would say the food was good not great. I think that GFC is a great choice if you are not staying at GF. It's a good reason to go to resort. The ambiance of the resort alone is worth the trip. If you are staying at GF anyways, I would suggest going to Kona. Just a monorail ride away and the food and service is much beter.

Also, the Mary Poppins breakfast at 1900 park fare is one of my favorites! I don't know if you can sqeeze that in or not, but it is highly recommended if you can. :thumbsup:

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Ohana's is a must do on our trips! We love it. The food is hot, fresh and delicious. There is plenty of it. Great view of the Magic Kingdom so we try to get ADRs when Wishes will be happening. Also they have dancing other activities that little kids seem to really enjoy.

Crystal Palace is a great character breakfast! We ate there on our last trip and were pleasantly surprised. Every character stopped by to see us and we got a picture with each. The handler was ever nice enough to get us a second picture with Piglet since the lady who took it took a blurry picture.

I haven't been to Portobello Yacht Club, Grand Floridian Cafe or Yachtmans Steak and really haven't heard much about them.

I've heard wonderful things about Chef Mickey's and 1900 Park Fare. I've been told that the mushroom soup is a must try.

We'll be trying California Grill, Tutto Italia and Mama Melrose on our trip. I have tried Tony's and we really enjoyed it. My DH said it was the best steak he had while we were there.

Honestly I think they sound great. The recommendation about having steak at Le Cellier rather than Yachtmans I think is a good one. I've only heard but wonderful things about Le Cellier. We'll be trying it to on our next trip.

Have fun!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:mickey: Wow, of all those I've only actually eaten at two:

Crystal Palace-although not a breakfasttime we ate there twice for lunch, first time was great, second was pretty bad...I tend to believe that the second experience was a fluke and we plan to eat there again on our Dec. trip...

Mama Melrose's-Out of a party of 8, the best response anyone had was it was okay-the chicken parm....as for me, I didn't like it at all....can't remember exactly what I had though

[wendy*darling]

I think your food choices are good- you have plenty of variety. You will surely have a lot of memorable meals and places you love.
I also am so-so on Mama Melroses. If your plan is to be a DHS all day- how about 50's Prime Time? It's lots of fun for the kids, good comfort food. It's not part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package though- so if that's your goal- I would go with Hollywood and Vine.

I have a non-food related comment.
I see DD#2 is going to BBB in the afternoon/evening of the 11th. I think she will LOVE it and be so proud of her new "do"! So, my concern is that you have a water park scheduled the very next day. She will completely loose her hairstyle less than 24 hrs after her BBB visit. (Not to mention the money you just put out for that hairdo!)
I would reconsider the water park day. Can you switch it to Thursday?

[KAT1811]

Honestly I think they sound great. The recommendation about having steak at Le Cellier rather than Yachtmans I think is a good one. I've only heard but wonderful things about Le Cellier. We'll be trying it to on our next trip.

Have fun!

DH was not crazy about Le Cellier the last time we were there. I have to say that I was very disappointed in our service on our last visit. We are big steak fans and as a result have very high standards in that arena. We typically visit Ruth's Chris in our area when we are on the hunt for a great steak. I think that we'll try the Yachtsman this trip and see what happens. I was thinking about Shula's but am put off by the lack of a children's menu and the share charge. IMHO if I am paying almost $50 for a steak and side (for a 2 and 4 year old) I find it insulting that they would even suggest that I pay $10 extra to split the entree. We find dine regularly and do not give our business to venues that try to extract every cent they can from their patrons.


I also am so-so on Mam Melroses. If your plan is to be a DHS all day- how about 50's Prime Time? It's lots of fun for the kids, good comfort food. It's not part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package though- so if that's your goal- I would go with Hollywood and Vine.

We had a few nice meals at Mama Melrose's on our last couple of trips. Not fabulous but none of restaurants in DHS really grab me.

We ate a 50's a couple of times and did not enjoy much of anything there. Buffets are not a huge hit here either. I guess we picked Mama's for lack of a better option.



I have a non-food related comment.
I see DD#2 is going to BBB in the afternoon/evening of the 11th. I think she will LOVE it and be so proud of her new "do"! So, my concern is that you have a water park scheduled the very next day. She will completely loose her hairstyle less than 24 hrs after her BBB visit. (Not to mention the money you just put out for that hairdo!)
I would reconsider the water park day. Can you switch it to Thursday?

Unfortunately I think that we will be ready for a day off after 2 birthdays and three parks. The BBB is more for the experience than anything. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Believe it or not I'm pretty handy with a brush and glitter. I'm sure that we can figure out something that will pacify her. Thank you for the suggestion. Maybe I can grab some glitter hair gel at the BBB?

[NJGIRL]

Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's are both great places for breakfast. Both have good hot food with a large selection.

Mama Melrose is just OK. The food wasn't bad but it was just OK.

Potabello has top notch service and food.

le Cellier I felt was Ok also. I found nothing special about it. The food and service was OK but I don't feel it's a place we need to go back to.

[Natazu]

Portobello is pretty good, better than Tony's or Mama's. The service is good and the menu is diverse. The Duck Pappa is just like grandma used to make... except with chicken cause "da cheapa butcha downa da street makka him trimma da fat".

Tutto Italia. - I haven't been here but the reviews have been mixed at best. Some people who's opinions I respect (for what that's worth) haven't cared for it.

1900 Park Fare should be a blast for the little ones. the food's bearable.

As far as breakfast buffets go, Crystal Palace one is pretty good. The character interaction is above average and the servers keep up pretty well. It is easy to get skipped by the characters if you're away from the table much. Make sure and tell your server it's a birthday!

Can't go wrong with California Grill. Try the sonoma goat cheese ravioli.

Yachtsman Steakhouse is not one of our favorites. It isn't bad by any means but I think it lacks the quality of food and service necessary to be called "signature dining". Also, they get their meat from the same place on the same day as LC, so if DH didn't like Le Cellier's steak, he may not like Yachtsman.

'Ohana is one of the places I wish we had near home. I could eat here every day. Bring on the meats!

Mama Melrose's has good flatbreads, winning desserts but not much stellar in the entree department except maybe the Pen al Vodka. We don't eat here much anymore. If we do it's must apps and dessert.

Chef Mickey's is one of the best character meals. The food's good and it's one of the few places you can see Donald chasing chipmunks around with a rolling pin.

Grand Floridian Cafe is a good breakfast. The dining room is pretty as the sun comes up over the lagoon. It's a shame you can't catch a dinner there though. The steaks are wonderful.


How about dumping Mama's for Il Mulino? I guarantee you'll like the food better. Mangia!

[elmjimmlm]

Park Fare.- Great meal with good character interaction...
Donald's Safari Breakfast.-Best breakfast by far...
Dinner at 'Ohana-My DH would eat there every day...
Dinner at Mama Melrose's.-I am not with the majority...We liked it...

[KAT1811]

Portobello is pretty good, better than Tony's or Mama's. The service is good and the menu is diverse. The Duck Pappa is just like grandma used to make... except with chicken cause "da cheapa butcha downa da street makka him trimma da fat".

Glad to hear we won't be wasting our time if we try here.

Tutto Italia. - I haven't been here but the reviews have been mixed at best. Some people who's opinions I respect (for what that's worth) haven't cared for it.

I never really cared for Alfredo's either but I figured since it was new we would give it another go. We are spoiled here with fabulous italian food (we live in a very italian area. Our former neighbors were born and raised in Itri and moved here in their 20s.). My main thinking was that we could stay in the park for dinner without having to venture too far out of the way. There really isn't anything in Epcot we have to do for dinner. How about France any thoughts there?

1900 Park Fare should be a blast for the little ones. the food's bearable. We've done it before. Not a huge fan of buffets but we enjoy the chracters and the GF.

As far as breakfast buffets go, Crystal Palace one is pretty good. The character interaction is above average and the servers keep up pretty well. It is easy to get skipped by the characters if you're away from the table much. Make sure and tell your server it's a birthday!

Can't go wrong with California Grill. Try the sonoma goat cheese ravioli. Loved them the last time we were there. I will certainly be getting them again.

Yachtsman Steakhouse is not one of our favorites. It isn't bad by any means but I think it lacks the quality of food and service necessary to be called "signature dining". Also, they get their meat from the same place on the same day as LC, so if DH didn't like Le Cellier's steak, he may not like Yachtsman. Disappointing. I thought I heard such wonderful things about Yachtsman. DH would really love a good steak. Maybe we'll try Grand Floridian Cafe instead?

'Ohana is one of the places I wish we had near home. I could eat here every day. Bring on the meats! The kids had fun on our last trip. I love the Maui pots although I hear they are no longer there. Plus who doesn't love a drink in a real pineapple?!

Mama Melrose's has good flatbreads, winning desserts but not much stellar in the entree department except maybe the Pen al Vodka. We don't eat here much anymore. If we do it's must apps and dessert. I'll probably stick with the flatbreads here. Maybe we'll try Il Mulino instead.

Chef Mickey's is one of the best character meals. The food's good and it's one of the few places you can see Donald chasing chipmunks around with a rolling pin. I figured this is a good way to end the vacation. Plus if we haven't caught the big guy now would be a great time to do it!

Grand Floridian Cafe is a good breakfast. The dining room is pretty as the sun comes up over the lagoon. It's a shame you can't catch a dinner there though. The steaks are wonderful.


How about dumping Mama's for Il Mulino? I guarantee you'll like the food better. Mangia!


Thanks Jym!!!

[Jared]

I've never tried Portobello Yacht Club or Tutto Italia Ristorante, and I usually don't like Disney Italian food. Strangely, my family enjoyed Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano twice, so perhaps my opinion is screwy.

1900 Park Fare is my favorite of the traditional character buffets. I think it's a little better than Chef Mickey's and The Crystal Palace, especially for dinner. I really like the setting, and it seems a tad less hectic than the other two. Still, you will still like your breakfasts at Chef Mickey's and The Crystal Palace. They seem to work better for breakfast.

I don't think I could say anything about California Grill you don't already know. Just prepare for a wonderful experience. If you ever have time, read Jym's review.

I've never tried Yachtsman Steakhouse or Tusker House Restaurant since it became a table service restaurant, so I cannot comment on those.

'Ohana is possibly my favorite restaurant in Disney, though I won't try the new menu until May. I'm sure you won't leave disappointed.

Finally, I've never tried the Grand Floridian Cafe, but I've heard nothing but great things.

Enjoy, and thanks for posting!

:tasty:

[tyandskyesmom]

When they kids and I were in the World in January we ate at Tutto Italio (in "Little Knee" as Skye calls it!) and when I ask their favorite restaurant now...guess what they answer. I do not know why...it is not very kid-like...kid friendly...yes but not something you would think a 9 and 4 year old woudl love over breakfast with Mickey! However, we ate there on one of our last nights of a 13 day Deluxe Dining plan excursion and I was not as pleased as they were. I don't know if it was just that we were so stuffed by then or if it was actually the food or what but I could take or leave it. It is very expensive for what we had (in my opinion) but that did not matter for us at the time. There was a bit of a wait and we did feel a little rushed (and I don't think i felt that anywhere else --maybe because of the dining plan???). I mean we liked it but it is not some place we were hurrying to show Daddy when he gets to come back with us.

We love 1900 Park Fare for breakfast (even though you need to book very early or plan on waiting around a lot to be seated!). We did dinner there on the January trip thought (we did breakfast too) because of the character changes (Skye was more excited about seeing the step sisters that Cindy!) but we were rather disappointed in the food. We'll stick to breakfast.

We have eaten at Crystal Palace for all meals...didn't like dinner too much. On the January trip we had breakfast and lunch there and we prefer breakfast. It was a great breakfast buffet. Lunch wasn't bad but breakfast was great...especially when we got into the park early.

We loved, loved, loved Donald's Breakfast Safari and even lunch at Tuskerhouse. All three of us did...we did both in January. Breakfast got us in early again too. The characters spent a lot of time with the kids and they did a celebration song and march during one point. And there was plenty variety and it is set up to easily get what you need. We did have quite a wait for lunch though because we had the first seating time and they had to wait untill all the breakfast crown was gone.

We ate at Mama Melrose for dinner one night, which was something I said I would never do. In the interest of getting value for our DDDP and not wanting mediocre food from Sci-fi, the atmosphere at 50s, a buffet at H&V or to spring for a signatire meal at HBD I booked it. We were really very pleasantly surprised! All three of us enjoyed it...and it is on my itinerary for my next trip adn the yet imaginary one after that!

Chef Mickey's has become our last morning meal. We all really like it for breakfast. There is enough for everyone to find something they like and what could be better than saying goodbye to the fab five in person!

And we were at the Grand Floridian Cafe in January for dinner...not breakfast. We had a really great dinner there so I would expect something as standard as breakfast to be a good bet.