Mickey'sGirl
10-19-2007, 05:32 PM
After much hemming and hawing (and 3 trips using the incredible DDE card), we opted to purchase the Dining Plan for our most recent trip. We typically eat at TS restaurants at least one time per day, and the convenience of having our food paid for before our holiday finally convinced us. I am going to provide a brief review of some of the restaurants, and of the plan itself.
Sunday was Canadian Thanksgiving, and we were planning an early dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table at our DS3’s request, and against DH and my better judgment. (We have eaten here in the past and were less than impressed by the food. LOVE the atmosphere, but the food lacked). DH and I were very wrong. What a fabulous dinner we had with the Fairy Godmother and Susie and Perla. We both started with the BLT Salad, then DH had Prime Rib and Garlic Mashed potatoes, and I had the Salmon and risotto. The boys had HOT DOGS! My kids NEVER have hot dogs, and DS3 gags at the thought of them….yet they both ordered them. The food was much better than we remembered it to be, and we had a fabulous server from Rochester who brought an extra order of hot dogs to our table after DS3 dropped one (and he was eating them with gusto!), and in sympathy for my DS9’s hunger. DH and I both had chocolate cake, and the boys had the Royal Crown sundaes for dessert. It was a really fabulous show – with the Fairy Godmother leading us in a Bibidy Bobbidy Boo sing a long --- that included her asking my nose-picking DS3 to “get one” for her. Hilarious. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely, and said that we would definitely do dinner at Cindy’s again.
Monday was my favourite culinary day of our trip. We made our first ever, long anticipated visit to the Brown Derby at MGM at lunchtime. We had talked ourselves out of it for SOOOOO long because of the kids, and that it was so expensive (even on the DDP where it cost 2 TS credits each). Our wait to be seated was minimal, and we were given a nice quiet booth on the main floor. Our server Glenn was very formal at first, but relaxed a bit as we journeyed through lunch. DH had a Wheat Beer to start, and I had a glass of Kim Crawford Chenin Blanc, DS9 a chocolate shake and DS3 some apple juice. Of course when DS3 saw his brother’s shake he wanted an “ice cream drink” too – and that Glenn went and got him one! Then the starters came. DH had Mulligatawny soup (a curry/chicken soup with crème fraiche, which he loved; I had the Portobello Mushroom Goat Cheese Tortellini which was FABULOUS (really thin pasta around finely chopped mushroom and cheese); the boys had the carrot and celery sticks. For our entrées, DH had the New York Strip which he said was cooked perfectly; I had the Ahi Tuna Cobb Salad … just seared and the tuna was rare and cool in the middle. Lovely presentation and great wasabi salad and some udon noodles to accompany it. TERRIFIC; Harry had the Fried Grouper strips with broccoli, and Euan had a Grilled cheese with Apple slices. What fabulous children’s choices they were. Harry is an al dente man, and the broccoli met his high standards, and he really enjoyed the fish. Euan’s Grilled cheese was more like a really thin Panini. The only thing left by any of us were the crusts from Euan’s sandwich (Hey! He’s only 3!). For dessert DH had the cheesecake which he enjoyed, and I had some really great Crème Brule. It was rich and thick, and the vanilla bean was nicely distributed throughout and there wasn’t too much sugar on top. It was made by someone who really cares about food. The boys had ice cream of course (it is their favourite food group!). We were there, seated in our booth with our two excitable ever moving sons for almost 2 hours – and it was PAINLESS! The boys were comfortable in the atmosphere (which we enjoyed too with the high ceilings and fabulous caricatures on the walls) and really enjoyed their food. I highly recommend the Brown Derby to anyone who enjoys good food and good service.
Monday night we ate dinner at Spoodles. We were originally slated to eat at Teppenyaki, but due to the reopening delay, we were moved to Spoodles (our choice) and given VIP passes for viewing Illuminations over at Epcot later on. We had stayed at BWI in 2006, and were anxious to say hi – so we elected to eat at Spoodles which had not disappointed us in the past. We were seated promptly, and started with flatbreads and salads to share. The boys had pizza which they both enjoyed; DH had the Rigatoni Pasta with sausage, and I had the Shrimp Fettuccine. It was good (I have never had so many decent sized shrimp in pasta in my life. There must have been 25 or 30, which I shared with the kids), but not phenomenal and service was mediocre. For dessert, DH had raspberry gelato, I had Crème Brule (which was not made by someone who loved food – or understood custard) and the boys of course had ice cream. On the Dining Plan, this was an all right meal. If I was paying out of pocket, I would have been extremely disappointed.
Tuesday we had a 7:10 am date at Chef Mickey’s. The place was near deserted when we got there, so we had plenty of one on one time with Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Minnie. The buffet breakfast was very good, and we had a great server who spoke to the boys directly about what they wanted. Early breakfast looks like the way to go – as there was a great long queue checking in when we were leaving at about 8.
After a horrible lunch on Tuesday, we secured an 8:40 dinner reservation that night at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (thank you thank you thank you!). The carvery featured Prime Rib, seasoned Pork Loin and Tamarind Salmon. Oh the heavenly aromas that reached us as we entered the restaurant! I actually caught another woman sniffing her food and smiling as we were buffeting! We skipped the soups and went right for the gusto….we were all hungry after our lunchtime disappointment. We all tried many things, but what stands out in my mind is the saffron/cinnamon rice, the Moroccan Couscous and the Tamarind Salmon…. and I even had some Prime Rib! Brian had some of the pork, and enjoyed it as well – as it wasn’t over cooked. Everything was so good; I went up and got it all again. None of us had dessert – I personally didn’t want to ruin the happiness for my tummy – and we had all had far too much dessert over the past couple of days! Boma is fantastic, and the food NEVER lets us down. All of us enjoy the flavours and textures of the foods – and hey, we all enjoy zebra domes too, but we just didn’t have any this time!
Sunday was Canadian Thanksgiving, and we were planning an early dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table at our DS3’s request, and against DH and my better judgment. (We have eaten here in the past and were less than impressed by the food. LOVE the atmosphere, but the food lacked). DH and I were very wrong. What a fabulous dinner we had with the Fairy Godmother and Susie and Perla. We both started with the BLT Salad, then DH had Prime Rib and Garlic Mashed potatoes, and I had the Salmon and risotto. The boys had HOT DOGS! My kids NEVER have hot dogs, and DS3 gags at the thought of them….yet they both ordered them. The food was much better than we remembered it to be, and we had a fabulous server from Rochester who brought an extra order of hot dogs to our table after DS3 dropped one (and he was eating them with gusto!), and in sympathy for my DS9’s hunger. DH and I both had chocolate cake, and the boys had the Royal Crown sundaes for dessert. It was a really fabulous show – with the Fairy Godmother leading us in a Bibidy Bobbidy Boo sing a long --- that included her asking my nose-picking DS3 to “get one” for her. Hilarious. We all enjoyed ourselves immensely, and said that we would definitely do dinner at Cindy’s again.
Monday was my favourite culinary day of our trip. We made our first ever, long anticipated visit to the Brown Derby at MGM at lunchtime. We had talked ourselves out of it for SOOOOO long because of the kids, and that it was so expensive (even on the DDP where it cost 2 TS credits each). Our wait to be seated was minimal, and we were given a nice quiet booth on the main floor. Our server Glenn was very formal at first, but relaxed a bit as we journeyed through lunch. DH had a Wheat Beer to start, and I had a glass of Kim Crawford Chenin Blanc, DS9 a chocolate shake and DS3 some apple juice. Of course when DS3 saw his brother’s shake he wanted an “ice cream drink” too – and that Glenn went and got him one! Then the starters came. DH had Mulligatawny soup (a curry/chicken soup with crème fraiche, which he loved; I had the Portobello Mushroom Goat Cheese Tortellini which was FABULOUS (really thin pasta around finely chopped mushroom and cheese); the boys had the carrot and celery sticks. For our entrées, DH had the New York Strip which he said was cooked perfectly; I had the Ahi Tuna Cobb Salad … just seared and the tuna was rare and cool in the middle. Lovely presentation and great wasabi salad and some udon noodles to accompany it. TERRIFIC; Harry had the Fried Grouper strips with broccoli, and Euan had a Grilled cheese with Apple slices. What fabulous children’s choices they were. Harry is an al dente man, and the broccoli met his high standards, and he really enjoyed the fish. Euan’s Grilled cheese was more like a really thin Panini. The only thing left by any of us were the crusts from Euan’s sandwich (Hey! He’s only 3!). For dessert DH had the cheesecake which he enjoyed, and I had some really great Crème Brule. It was rich and thick, and the vanilla bean was nicely distributed throughout and there wasn’t too much sugar on top. It was made by someone who really cares about food. The boys had ice cream of course (it is their favourite food group!). We were there, seated in our booth with our two excitable ever moving sons for almost 2 hours – and it was PAINLESS! The boys were comfortable in the atmosphere (which we enjoyed too with the high ceilings and fabulous caricatures on the walls) and really enjoyed their food. I highly recommend the Brown Derby to anyone who enjoys good food and good service.
Monday night we ate dinner at Spoodles. We were originally slated to eat at Teppenyaki, but due to the reopening delay, we were moved to Spoodles (our choice) and given VIP passes for viewing Illuminations over at Epcot later on. We had stayed at BWI in 2006, and were anxious to say hi – so we elected to eat at Spoodles which had not disappointed us in the past. We were seated promptly, and started with flatbreads and salads to share. The boys had pizza which they both enjoyed; DH had the Rigatoni Pasta with sausage, and I had the Shrimp Fettuccine. It was good (I have never had so many decent sized shrimp in pasta in my life. There must have been 25 or 30, which I shared with the kids), but not phenomenal and service was mediocre. For dessert, DH had raspberry gelato, I had Crème Brule (which was not made by someone who loved food – or understood custard) and the boys of course had ice cream. On the Dining Plan, this was an all right meal. If I was paying out of pocket, I would have been extremely disappointed.
Tuesday we had a 7:10 am date at Chef Mickey’s. The place was near deserted when we got there, so we had plenty of one on one time with Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Minnie. The buffet breakfast was very good, and we had a great server who spoke to the boys directly about what they wanted. Early breakfast looks like the way to go – as there was a great long queue checking in when we were leaving at about 8.
After a horrible lunch on Tuesday, we secured an 8:40 dinner reservation that night at Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge (thank you thank you thank you!). The carvery featured Prime Rib, seasoned Pork Loin and Tamarind Salmon. Oh the heavenly aromas that reached us as we entered the restaurant! I actually caught another woman sniffing her food and smiling as we were buffeting! We skipped the soups and went right for the gusto….we were all hungry after our lunchtime disappointment. We all tried many things, but what stands out in my mind is the saffron/cinnamon rice, the Moroccan Couscous and the Tamarind Salmon…. and I even had some Prime Rib! Brian had some of the pork, and enjoyed it as well – as it wasn’t over cooked. Everything was so good; I went up and got it all again. None of us had dessert – I personally didn’t want to ruin the happiness for my tummy – and we had all had far too much dessert over the past couple of days! Boma is fantastic, and the food NEVER lets us down. All of us enjoy the flavours and textures of the foods – and hey, we all enjoy zebra domes too, but we just didn’t have any this time!