Jeff G
10-01-2008, 03:26 PM
Dining Rating -
Atmosphere: A
Food selection: B+
Food Quality: B
Service: A
Overall Grade: A-
We were a group of 14 looking for a unique way to celebrate my nephews 8th birthday, when we heard about the International Grand Gathering Dinner we jumped on it.
The meal was served at the Odyssey Restaurant in EPCOT. There wass just one seating time and everyone was shown in and seated shortly after 7:15. The meal is served as a buffet featuring different food selections from the many countries present at EPCOT. Even though everyone was seated around the same time the buffet never had any lines. After diner a hostess and DJ announced special occasions people were celebrating (including my nephews birthday), those celebrating were brought up to the stage which the entire audience celebrated and sang happy birthday. After the celebrations Minnie and Goofy joined the party dancing with all of the kids and to posing for pictures, it was nice to see characters interacting with the kids. After diner we were to receive VIP seating for Illuminations with desert but since it had rained on & off all night the desert was served inside. After desert we were shown to our VIP seating for Illuminations which was front row with no obstructions. We were so close to the show we had fireworks being launched within a few feet of us and the heat from the show was noticeable. Overall the event was awesome.
Our waitress was top notch. She was very attentive to our needs. Every time a glass was 3/4 empty she was there with another one and processed our checks promptly. By far this was the best service we had all week.
The food was served buffet style with mixed reviews from our group. We all enjoyed the pasta which was cooked to order and the kids really enjoyed their selections. I was a little disappointed in the the rest of the offerings. It was billed an international buffet but it was an almost all americanized foods. The food wasn't the highlight of the evening for me, I felt it was average but I was the minority and everyone else in the group felt the food was great. The desert selection and the after diner coffee was excellent. The deserts included selections from the bakeries in Norway and France and were awesome.
Overall the experience was very fun and we would doing it again.
Atmosphere: A
Food selection: B+
Food Quality: B
Service: A
Overall Grade: A-
We were a group of 14 looking for a unique way to celebrate my nephews 8th birthday, when we heard about the International Grand Gathering Dinner we jumped on it.
The meal was served at the Odyssey Restaurant in EPCOT. There wass just one seating time and everyone was shown in and seated shortly after 7:15. The meal is served as a buffet featuring different food selections from the many countries present at EPCOT. Even though everyone was seated around the same time the buffet never had any lines. After diner a hostess and DJ announced special occasions people were celebrating (including my nephews birthday), those celebrating were brought up to the stage which the entire audience celebrated and sang happy birthday. After the celebrations Minnie and Goofy joined the party dancing with all of the kids and to posing for pictures, it was nice to see characters interacting with the kids. After diner we were to receive VIP seating for Illuminations with desert but since it had rained on & off all night the desert was served inside. After desert we were shown to our VIP seating for Illuminations which was front row with no obstructions. We were so close to the show we had fireworks being launched within a few feet of us and the heat from the show was noticeable. Overall the event was awesome.
Our waitress was top notch. She was very attentive to our needs. Every time a glass was 3/4 empty she was there with another one and processed our checks promptly. By far this was the best service we had all week.
The food was served buffet style with mixed reviews from our group. We all enjoyed the pasta which was cooked to order and the kids really enjoyed their selections. I was a little disappointed in the the rest of the offerings. It was billed an international buffet but it was an almost all americanized foods. The food wasn't the highlight of the evening for me, I felt it was average but I was the minority and everyone else in the group felt the food was great. The desert selection and the after diner coffee was excellent. The deserts included selections from the bakeries in Norway and France and were awesome.
Overall the experience was very fun and we would doing it again.