BriarRose0708
10-30-2012, 11:23 AM
Hello friends, Nikki here reporting less than 24 hours after leaving WDW. Hope to give you some useful food reviews so those traveling in the immediate future can get recent information. I will be doing three separate reviews- one for counter service, one for table service, and one for Food and Wine Fest. I was on the Dining Plan for this trip, and will include more thoughts on that later. I also tend to be fairly wordy so please feel free to skim!
The standards I use for evaluating dining are very basic: I'm not Lady Mary. I don't live at Downton Abbey. The staff at Disney are not there to wait on my every want and need. That's just not how I roll. So, what may be considered awful service to some could register as it's-not-that-bad to me. I'm certainly going to include the bad along with the good where it is warranted, yet I am happy to say there were very few instances of bad this trip!
So, on to the reviews of Counter Service!
Everything Pop I ate dinner here on my arrival night, Tuesday Oct 23. I got in around 9:00 p.m. and things were certainly Poppin'! Even though I stay at Pop very frequently I don't tend to use the food court, so I wasn't used to the hectic atmosphere I ran into this night. I got in the pasta/pizza line, which was long but moved fairly quickly. The biggest challenge to a swift line that I noticed were guests who clearly did not speak English as their first language. The cast members did a really good job communicating as best they could with a family in front of me, and it looked to me like they walked away satisfied with their meals.
Anyhow, I ordered the chicken alfredo dish: breaded chicken breast with rigatoni pasta and alfredo sauce served with a bread stick. The alfredo didn't have much flavor (really lacking in Parmesan cheese) but the chicken was cooked perfectly. The bread stick was soft and garlicky, just the way I like them. The pasta portion was small compared to pictures I've seen online but since my piece of chicken was so big it didn't matter. Had the tye dye cheesecake for dessert. Never had this before and will definitely get it again next trip! I love cake, cheesecake and bright colors so this was the perfect dessert for me!
Overall: Everything Pop is a good place to grab a bite if you're not headed to a park. It's large and has a wide variety of choices and unique desserts. Depending on the time of day and season, it can be very crowded, loud, and may take a long time to get your meal. This doesn't necessarily bother me as a single traveler, but I can see where others with families or different preferences would not find it charming.
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe I have eaten at Cosmic Ray's a couple times before but had burgers and nuggets. This time I went for the half rotisserie chicken breast served with green beans and mashed potatoes, and chose chocolate gelato for dessert. I loved this meal. The green beans were crisp, which really surprised me and the mashed potatoes were better than the ones I had at LTT later in the trip. The chicken was very good but I couldn't finish it all. I tried both white and dark parts of the half chicken and the breast was just a touch dry. I quickly remedied that by scooping up some mashed potato on my fork with it. The chocolate gelato was ok, kind of wish I got the mango instead.
Overall Cosmic Ray's is a gem in counter service choices across the MK area. There's lots of variety, the toppings bar can't be beat and who doesn't enjoy their meal while being serenaded by Sonny Eclipse?
Tangerine Cafe is my favorite Counter Service on property. The size of the portions for your money make it a great value and the middle-eastern/Mediterranean inspired cuisine isn't too adventurous for pickier eaters. The Morocco pavilion is beautiful and authentic, especially when Mo Rockin' is on stage you really feel transported to another location altogether.
I had the lamb platter - slices of spiced lamb with onions and raita sauce served with sides of hummus, tabbouleh, and tangerine cous cous salad and a pita. Menus online still show Moroccan Bread, but I think since pitas are more popular in America they have switched. Or they were out of bread when I ordered dinner, lol. There was no choice for dessert- it's either Baklava or Baklava. Everything was delicious, especially the lamb. I wasn't too excited by the Baklava although it was good it wasn't amazing.
Overall Tangerine Cafe is great. It's a lesser known counter service so there's usually little to no wait and as I've already outlined, the food is so good and a good value.
Toy Story Pizza Planet This was a new one to me. I actually don't mind the Disney pizza as much as others hate it. I do fully acknowledge there is far better pizza on property. But, as already discussed in many other threads it's difficult to find quality counter service in Hollywood Studios.
It was a surprisingly crowded day in HS, and the line at lunchtime was long but not out the door. I waited maybe 10 minutes to get to a kiosk. They had a great cast member helping with crowd control. I ordered a cheese pizza that comes with a side Caesar salad and a cappuccino cupcake for dessert. The pizza was very cheesy and hot and the crust was pretty crispy but doughy, if that makes sense. I didn't touch the salad as it looked unappetizing. The cupcake was the star of the show! A very moist chocolate cake with espresso flavored frosting and chocolate drizzle. Very good but very sweet and I only ate half. Even at Disney, calories count!
Overall what Pizza Planet lacks in food quality is made up for by atmosphere. Kids LOVE this place but parents and solo adult travelers may want to bring earplugs or eat outside.
Yak and Yeti I was here yesterday for my last meal at WDW. Got lunch around ten after eleven and there was no line at the kiosks. Got my favorite honey chicken served with broccoli and rice with a chocolate mousse parfait for dessert. The portion sizes at Y&Y are also large which I feel makes it a good value and would be plenty to share with another person. My chicken was fresh and almost too hot! The food is layered so that you have to eat a couple bites of chicken before hitting broccoli and then the rice. Try to mix it up if possible, I enjoyed it more that way and gave the chicken a minute or so to cool down. It was chilly in AK yesterday so this was a great meal to warm up with. The chocolate mousse was more like pudding with whipped cream on top. I liked it but wish they had left the mango pie on the menu. Didn't see it listed anymore.
That's it for counter services. I am always amazed when I read reviews or hear feedback that all there is to eat in Disney are burgers, hot dogs, and nuggets. While those items are readily available, there are so many other unique and tasty choices that one could go a whole week on the Quick Service plan and not eat any of the three. Next up will be Table Service reviews.
The standards I use for evaluating dining are very basic: I'm not Lady Mary. I don't live at Downton Abbey. The staff at Disney are not there to wait on my every want and need. That's just not how I roll. So, what may be considered awful service to some could register as it's-not-that-bad to me. I'm certainly going to include the bad along with the good where it is warranted, yet I am happy to say there were very few instances of bad this trip!
So, on to the reviews of Counter Service!
Everything Pop I ate dinner here on my arrival night, Tuesday Oct 23. I got in around 9:00 p.m. and things were certainly Poppin'! Even though I stay at Pop very frequently I don't tend to use the food court, so I wasn't used to the hectic atmosphere I ran into this night. I got in the pasta/pizza line, which was long but moved fairly quickly. The biggest challenge to a swift line that I noticed were guests who clearly did not speak English as their first language. The cast members did a really good job communicating as best they could with a family in front of me, and it looked to me like they walked away satisfied with their meals.
Anyhow, I ordered the chicken alfredo dish: breaded chicken breast with rigatoni pasta and alfredo sauce served with a bread stick. The alfredo didn't have much flavor (really lacking in Parmesan cheese) but the chicken was cooked perfectly. The bread stick was soft and garlicky, just the way I like them. The pasta portion was small compared to pictures I've seen online but since my piece of chicken was so big it didn't matter. Had the tye dye cheesecake for dessert. Never had this before and will definitely get it again next trip! I love cake, cheesecake and bright colors so this was the perfect dessert for me!
Overall: Everything Pop is a good place to grab a bite if you're not headed to a park. It's large and has a wide variety of choices and unique desserts. Depending on the time of day and season, it can be very crowded, loud, and may take a long time to get your meal. This doesn't necessarily bother me as a single traveler, but I can see where others with families or different preferences would not find it charming.
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe I have eaten at Cosmic Ray's a couple times before but had burgers and nuggets. This time I went for the half rotisserie chicken breast served with green beans and mashed potatoes, and chose chocolate gelato for dessert. I loved this meal. The green beans were crisp, which really surprised me and the mashed potatoes were better than the ones I had at LTT later in the trip. The chicken was very good but I couldn't finish it all. I tried both white and dark parts of the half chicken and the breast was just a touch dry. I quickly remedied that by scooping up some mashed potato on my fork with it. The chocolate gelato was ok, kind of wish I got the mango instead.
Overall Cosmic Ray's is a gem in counter service choices across the MK area. There's lots of variety, the toppings bar can't be beat and who doesn't enjoy their meal while being serenaded by Sonny Eclipse?
Tangerine Cafe is my favorite Counter Service on property. The size of the portions for your money make it a great value and the middle-eastern/Mediterranean inspired cuisine isn't too adventurous for pickier eaters. The Morocco pavilion is beautiful and authentic, especially when Mo Rockin' is on stage you really feel transported to another location altogether.
I had the lamb platter - slices of spiced lamb with onions and raita sauce served with sides of hummus, tabbouleh, and tangerine cous cous salad and a pita. Menus online still show Moroccan Bread, but I think since pitas are more popular in America they have switched. Or they were out of bread when I ordered dinner, lol. There was no choice for dessert- it's either Baklava or Baklava. Everything was delicious, especially the lamb. I wasn't too excited by the Baklava although it was good it wasn't amazing.
Overall Tangerine Cafe is great. It's a lesser known counter service so there's usually little to no wait and as I've already outlined, the food is so good and a good value.
Toy Story Pizza Planet This was a new one to me. I actually don't mind the Disney pizza as much as others hate it. I do fully acknowledge there is far better pizza on property. But, as already discussed in many other threads it's difficult to find quality counter service in Hollywood Studios.
It was a surprisingly crowded day in HS, and the line at lunchtime was long but not out the door. I waited maybe 10 minutes to get to a kiosk. They had a great cast member helping with crowd control. I ordered a cheese pizza that comes with a side Caesar salad and a cappuccino cupcake for dessert. The pizza was very cheesy and hot and the crust was pretty crispy but doughy, if that makes sense. I didn't touch the salad as it looked unappetizing. The cupcake was the star of the show! A very moist chocolate cake with espresso flavored frosting and chocolate drizzle. Very good but very sweet and I only ate half. Even at Disney, calories count!
Overall what Pizza Planet lacks in food quality is made up for by atmosphere. Kids LOVE this place but parents and solo adult travelers may want to bring earplugs or eat outside.
Yak and Yeti I was here yesterday for my last meal at WDW. Got lunch around ten after eleven and there was no line at the kiosks. Got my favorite honey chicken served with broccoli and rice with a chocolate mousse parfait for dessert. The portion sizes at Y&Y are also large which I feel makes it a good value and would be plenty to share with another person. My chicken was fresh and almost too hot! The food is layered so that you have to eat a couple bites of chicken before hitting broccoli and then the rice. Try to mix it up if possible, I enjoyed it more that way and gave the chicken a minute or so to cool down. It was chilly in AK yesterday so this was a great meal to warm up with. The chocolate mousse was more like pudding with whipped cream on top. I liked it but wish they had left the mango pie on the menu. Didn't see it listed anymore.
That's it for counter services. I am always amazed when I read reviews or hear feedback that all there is to eat in Disney are burgers, hot dogs, and nuggets. While those items are readily available, there are so many other unique and tasty choices that one could go a whole week on the Quick Service plan and not eat any of the three. Next up will be Table Service reviews.