Counter Service Reviews

[mom2alix]

Counter Service

First of all, let me tell you we are not counter service people. The first several trips DH and I took before kids I don’t think we ate a single CS meal, with the possible exception of a breakfast sandwich at Roaring Forks. The DDP has changed our dining habits, however. I can honestly say we did not have a single bad CS meal the entire trip. Some were just average park food type stuff, but several were truly outstanding. Here’s our cast:

Our family:
DH
Me
DD4
DS2

Our Friends:
Mr. B
Mrs. B
Stitch – age 9
Scamp – age 5
The twins – 18 months Mickey and Minnie

 

[mom2alix]

Sunday, 12/3 – Lunch @ Tusker House

This was a Dis recommendation and boy, do you guys know what you’re talking about! This was really a great CS meal. The men both got the rotisserie chicken which came w/mashed potatoes and green beans and it was a HUGE plate of food. The both said it was really good. The moms both got the fried chicken sandwich with fries and they were also really good; a nice fried chicken breast on a fresh bun. The kids all got the kids’ plate with a chicken drumstick, mashed potatoes, carrot sticks, applesauce and sugar-free Jello for dessert. The nine year old actually got 2 drumsticks in his meal. I don’t know if they asked his age at the counter and thought he might need more or if it was a mistake, but something to note for those who are worried about getting enough food for an older child. For the adult desserts we tried the cheesecake and the chocolate cake. The cheesecake was good, but the chocolate cake was REALLY good. There was more than enough to share with the 3 babies and then some.

 

[mom2alix]

Saturday 12/4 – Lunch @ Pinnochio’s

This was a light snack really as we had breakfast at CP early that morning and an ADR for Cape May that evening. We just got 2 of the pizza combos and an order of Figaro fries. It was good, but nothing to brag on compared to some of the really good CS meals we had elsewhere. The pizza was okay and hot, the salads were fresh. If you’re in the area and hungry, definitely try this, but be aware there are better choices for your CS credit. I have to admit, everywhere we had pizza was okay, but WDW is not synonymous with great pizza in my book and the have many other things which they do really, really well.

 

[mom2alix]

Monday 12/5 – Lunch @ Cosmic Ray’s

We had:
Chicken and Ribs Combo - Mr. B raved about this meal. It looked really good and was a LOT of food. DH and I had bacon cheeseburgers with fixing from the bar and they were good too. Mrs. B had the veggie burger and said it was good. My kids split an adult chicken tender meal (DDP police can relax – I didn’t cheat WDW – we actually left without using 3 CS credits). I will say the adult chicken tenders were nice white meat tenders, while the kids meal was nuggets – depends on your kids which they might prefer. The remaining child got a kids’ cheeseburger and seemed to like it. Kids meals came with applesauce and carrot sticks – no other dessert. For the adult meal deserts we had the triple chocolate cake, which was good and Mrs. B had the carrot cake and said it was good too. If you’re sharing, this is a really good CS as there was a TON of food and everything was good. Mr. B got a large drink with the DDP, but DH was in a different line and got the medium size, so YMMV on that.

 

[mom2alix]

Tuesday 12/6 – Lunch @ Sunshine Seasons

We only fed the kids here. They were really hungry and the adults wanted to wait for a WS meal. We order 3 of the Kids’ Sub sandwich plate, which came with applesauce. The kids also got a dessert here with a limited selection (the choices were a cookie, worms in the dirt cup, rice krispy treat, and one other thing I can’t remember). We got one chocolate chip cookie and two of the rice kirspy treats and they were HUGE!!! I cut one into 3 pieces and that gave each of the bigger kids a normal size treat. The babies split the cookie. We packed the other one away for later. This is a great kids meal. All the kids really enjoyed it and ate well. I did supplement it with goldfish crackers from the diaper bag, but this was enough food for 6 kids, mostly boys, which tells you how much was there. They have excellent adult choices here too which we tried in May, so this is a good CS choice for everyone. Highly recommend, especially with kids!

Lunch @ Tangierine Café

One work – YUM! 3 of us had the Chicken and Lamb Shawarma Platters which were SOOOO good. This is a LOT of food. The babies were hungry again by this time and helped us out with the hummus and couscous. DH had the meatball platter and didn’t like his, but he really doesn’t care for Moroccan food. I tried his and it was okay; maybe a little bland. He really should have ordered what I had, it was excellent. I did offer to share, but he decided to save room for a snack later. The baklava was good, but a little dry compared to what I’m used to. It worked well for sharing with kids, though, as it wasn’t as sticky. Highly recommend this CS!!!!

 

[mom2alix]

Thursday 12/7 – Dinner @ Pizza Planet (MGM)

Word of warning here: MGM closed at 8 PM, but PP stopped serving at 6:30 PM. The moms were doing the tail end of a baby swap on Star Tours while the Dads took the babies to get settled for dinner. Mr. B went down to get food while DH waited with the little ones and by the time they switched off, DH was unable to order because they had closed!! Fortunately, Mr. B had gotten 4 pizza combos for his family and we just fed the kids and the adults decided to wait. There are no kids meals at this CS, everything’s the same so it all worked out. I tried a bite of DD’s pizza and it was the same as at Pinnochio’s. The kids liked it and they were excited about the arcade which was still open. This was an okay CS and could be a lot of fun, just make sure to get there early and don’t plan on a late snack there!

Dinner @ Roaring Forks

By the time we got back to WL, we adults were famished so the ladies hit Roaring Forks while the guys took the kids upstairs and got them into PJs. I got DH the pepperoni pizza and the biggest frosted brownie I have ever seen. Pizza was okay and apparently the brownie was excellent. The rest of us had bacon cheeseburgers and fries with Mickey rice krispy treats for dessert. It was good for what it was and really nice to grab something quick at the resort.

 

[mom2alix]

Friday 12/8 – Breakfast @ Sunshine Seasons

The kids had already had eggs and cereal in the room, but the adults had a quick breakfast here. Mr. B and I got the breakfast croissant sandwich which had eggs and bacon and was really good. Mrs. B was dying for Sushi and they had it! DH just wanted a chocolate croissant so I planned to use a snack credit for him, however, the cashier said that since sushi was a lunch item we got a dessert item with it and counted DH’s croissant as that dessert. That’s a pretty good deal if you’re traveling with someone who wants sushi for breakfast. Mrs. B said the sushi was okay for already prepared, but not as good as getting it from a sushi bar, which is to say it was good for a CS credit and filled her craving. DH’s chocolate croissant was good.

Lunch @ Lotus Blossom Café

Mrs. B and I had the Twice Cooked Beef, which was tender, spicy and delicious. If you like spicy, I think this was the best choice here. Mr. B got the Lo Mein which he said was good and DH got the Sechuan Chicken, which he liked too. The kids got the Kids’s meal, which is an egg roll with beef fried rice. These were good size egg rolls and DD ate every bite of hers quite happily. Scamp tried a couple of bites, found a largish piece of cabbage which he considered lettuce and refused to eat any more. He did eat the rice okay. Stitch refused to even touch his food and demanded loudly that he be served “English food”. I offered to get him some blood pudding or haggis, but that kid has no sense of humor. Don’t worry, he didn’t starve - he ended up with PBJ back in the room later. The twins tried a little of everything and DS was asleep in the stroller, so he ate later. DD and DH got almond cookies for their dessert and liked them okay. I got the ginger ice cream and it was fantastic. It was a little cold for ice cream that day, but it was worth the chills! Mr. B tried the red bean ice cream and said it reminded him of cotton candy in flavor. Bottom line on this restaurant is that it was a really good choice for adults. It would also be a great family choice depending on the child’s tastes. DD LOVED is, but she’s a pretty adventurous eater and really likes veggies, etc.

 

[DisneyMom5]

These have been really helpful reviews. I can handle the sit-downs, but I freeze up when asked which CS to go to. LOL

Got to love the ddp!

Thanks!

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

This July we also did the sushi-for-breakfast thing at Sunshine Seasons! Thanks for the CS reviews.

 

[tlriv5]

We loved the Chicken and Rib combo at Cosmic Ray's also. It's hard to believe that counts for a counter service! We also liked the counter service meal in China at Epcot.

 

[Lexxiefern]

The DDP has really changed how we eat too. We don't usually do many CS meals, but we also found them actually very good. I need to try the Tangierine cafe, I have read so many reviews on how good it is. Thanks for all your reviews!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for the reviews, I enjoyed them. DH will probably want sushi for breakfast, so that was a good tip. He's a little weird sometimes...

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[Desnik]

Wow great reviews!! Thanks for sharing!
We agree about Sunshine Seasons, I love it there. We will be giving Tusker House a try.

 

[Leota]

You hit some of my favorite CS places - Love Tusker, Sunshine & Tangerinene.

I also love sushi & Miso soup for breakfast. Yum!

Pizza in WDW is pretty bad in general. Wolfgang Puck's is the one exception I can think of along with the now defunct Palio.

 

[Disney owl]

Great reviews

By the way it's "Black Pudding" & yes it's made with blood!

 

[mom2alix]

Great reviews

By the way it's "Black Pudding" & yes it's made with blood!

Well, that shows what I know about "English food"!