Cast of Characters:
Me-- 40 something, likes well-seasoned food
DS- 7- prefers sit down restaurants with spicy food
DC- 40 something, first trip to WDW
DCD- 10- picky, first trip
DH-- 40 something, picky (unexpectedly joined us)
Because it was DCD's first trip, and my son loves character meals, you will see that we eat those more than anything else. Typically, we do breakfast in the room, and bring a snack. For lunch, it is usually a salad or veggie sandwich to split for the women, a hot dog for DS, chicken planks for DCD, and left overs for DH.
Thursday evening-- Cinderella's Grand Gala at GF-- we really like this restaurant, pretty interior, great service, good buffet selection; the character interaction this evening was superb-- with Prince Ali instead of Prince Charming-- he kissed my DCD's hand and she was in 7th heaven. The mice-- Suzy and Perla- were wonderful as usual. It's funny, but I can't remember any distinguishing characteristics of the food, except that I loved the salads and fish. Oh, wait, my memory is coming back-- the fresh made pastas were incredibly good. I skipped dessert, but my DH had a plateful and loved them.
We had the spicy chicken sandwich, a chicken salad, and chicken planks back at AS Sports on several ocassions-- all were quite good for an afternoon snack.
At MK, we snacked on the orange juice whip (wonderful, but I like the pineapple better) and tried the spicy cheese pretzel (double yuck-- dry, etc.) at the Launching Pad. Popcorn was a staple on most afternoons.
We did Star Wars Weekend at MGM and had lunch at Backlot Express, which has become a new favorite quick stop for me. The vegetable sandwich is great, my son loves the hot dog, and DCD ate the chicken planks.
Friday evening-- Garden Grill-- The seating was cramped-- five in a booth- so there was limited table room for the food and the autograph books. The characters were superb-- and stopped by at least twice, and a few stopped three times. The service was decent, but it took him a while to get some of the things he forgot. We asked for the salad without dressing and had to wait a while-- but it was very tasty. The catfish was excellent-- moist, probably the best I've had. The flank steak and chicken were good. Great mashed potatoes, and I actually liked the cornbread dressing-- very mealy, but tasty. Dessert was cherry cobbler and cinnamon ice cream-- delicious. We had not done this one for a few years and have decided that we should do it more often.
Saturday morning-- Cape May Character breakfast-- this was a water park late afternoon. Since we had done e ride the night before, we had a late breakfast here. Unfortunately, it took 40 minutes to be seated-- we have never had to wait here before. However, the service and character interaction were great. This is probably my favorite place for character interaction. However, once again, the five of us were seated at a table made for 4-- very cramped, and it made it difficult to get the character's signatures and pictures. The food is good, but I prefer several of the other breakfast buffets for food-- this one doesn't have a waffle or an omelet station.
Saturday evening-- AK Pin event-- My DS and I went to the pin event at AK that evening-- and the food was to die for-- it was wonderful, incredible, on par with Jiko's. Also, there were several characters out for the entire evening-- plus we got to see Mowgli and the baby elephant as characters-- too cool. I have cut and pasted the menu here to give you an idea of the food:
Marinated Vine Ripened Tomato and Red Onion Salad with Cilantro Crispy Garden Greens with Assorted Dressings.
Turkey Breast with Sun Dried Cherry Chutney and Whole Seed Mustard.
Spiced Shredded Pork with Flatbreads and Caramelized Onion Compote.
Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Dried Tomatoes with Bowtie Pasta, Basil and Asiago.
Marinated Vine Ripened Tomato and Red Onion Salad with Cilantro Crispy Garden Greens with Assorted Dressings.
Turkey Breast with Sun Dried Cherry Chutney and Whole Seed Mustard.
Spiced Shredded Pork with Flatbreads and Caramelized Onion Compote.
Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Dried Tomatoes with Bowtie Pasta, Basil and Asiago.
Seasonal Grilled Vegetables with Roasted Garlic.
Roasted Potatoes with Fresh Herbs.
Assorted Gourmet Rolls.
Assorted Fruit Cobblers.
Assorted Oven Fresh Cookies.
Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Assorted Teas.
Sodas & Bottled Water.
Two Complimentary Alcoholic Beverage Coupons.
Sunday-- Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic package-- This might be my favorite non-character buffet. Excellent service, great food-- I can live off the salads, the cornbread, and the fish. The BBQ Baked Beans, Roasted Sweet Potato Wheels with Rootbeer Bourbon Glaze, Marinated Seasonal Tomatoes with Buffalo Mozzarella were all excellent. My husband loved the meats and the potatoes-- and the desserts (for a man who has to work hard to gain weight, he eats lots of desserts when we are at WDW).
Monday-- Crystal Palace-- We had a very late seating as we were once again doing e ride night (which is definitely worth the money). This is my DS's favorite character meal-- and we like the food. Great character interaction, and the food was good. However, I didn't like the creme brulee (a bit too mealy) and the tiramisu (not enough flavoring), but the chocolate mousse bites, the key lime pie, and the peanut butter chocolate cake were excellent. Truthfully, at this restaurant, I love the salads (especially the black bean one-- really all of them) and the cornbread spoon bread. But my DH loves the pork and every thing else. Good service.
We did stop at the Electric Umbrella-- nobody was impressed. They would not serve the salad without the dressing, and the chicken planks were blah.
Tuesday-- A grand gathering breakfast at Tony's restaurant. I was running late which may have contributed to the horrid service, but I was not impressed. We were seated about 7 minutes after the rest of our party-- they did not take our order for 45 minutes-- we got to watch our companions eat-- and several wait staff stopped at the table, but would not take our order-- and then they got the kid's orders wrong-- so they had to go back. It's a plated meal-- my DH said it was okay not great. I had the healthy choice, which seemed to be good-- but I got literally 3 bites, then we had to meet Mickey-- and they had cleared the food away before we got back to the table-- they didn't tell us that we were supposed to have finished our meal before we met Mickey. So we paid $70 for a few bites of food and to meet Mickey-- which we had already done. Goofy, Chip and Dale stopped at the table, but the character interaction was quick and dismissive-- they ignored the teenagers, snubbed the 10 year old and the adults, and did say hi to my DS. Not my favorite meal.
Me-- 40 something, likes well-seasoned food
DS- 7- prefers sit down restaurants with spicy food
DC- 40 something, first trip to WDW
DCD- 10- picky, first trip
DH-- 40 something, picky (unexpectedly joined us)
Because it was DCD's first trip, and my son loves character meals, you will see that we eat those more than anything else. Typically, we do breakfast in the room, and bring a snack. For lunch, it is usually a salad or veggie sandwich to split for the women, a hot dog for DS, chicken planks for DCD, and left overs for DH.
Thursday evening-- Cinderella's Grand Gala at GF-- we really like this restaurant, pretty interior, great service, good buffet selection; the character interaction this evening was superb-- with Prince Ali instead of Prince Charming-- he kissed my DCD's hand and she was in 7th heaven. The mice-- Suzy and Perla- were wonderful as usual. It's funny, but I can't remember any distinguishing characteristics of the food, except that I loved the salads and fish. Oh, wait, my memory is coming back-- the fresh made pastas were incredibly good. I skipped dessert, but my DH had a plateful and loved them.
We had the spicy chicken sandwich, a chicken salad, and chicken planks back at AS Sports on several ocassions-- all were quite good for an afternoon snack.
At MK, we snacked on the orange juice whip (wonderful, but I like the pineapple better) and tried the spicy cheese pretzel (double yuck-- dry, etc.) at the Launching Pad. Popcorn was a staple on most afternoons.
We did Star Wars Weekend at MGM and had lunch at Backlot Express, which has become a new favorite quick stop for me. The vegetable sandwich is great, my son loves the hot dog, and DCD ate the chicken planks.
Friday evening-- Garden Grill-- The seating was cramped-- five in a booth- so there was limited table room for the food and the autograph books. The characters were superb-- and stopped by at least twice, and a few stopped three times. The service was decent, but it took him a while to get some of the things he forgot. We asked for the salad without dressing and had to wait a while-- but it was very tasty. The catfish was excellent-- moist, probably the best I've had. The flank steak and chicken were good. Great mashed potatoes, and I actually liked the cornbread dressing-- very mealy, but tasty. Dessert was cherry cobbler and cinnamon ice cream-- delicious. We had not done this one for a few years and have decided that we should do it more often.
Saturday morning-- Cape May Character breakfast-- this was a water park late afternoon. Since we had done e ride the night before, we had a late breakfast here. Unfortunately, it took 40 minutes to be seated-- we have never had to wait here before. However, the service and character interaction were great. This is probably my favorite place for character interaction. However, once again, the five of us were seated at a table made for 4-- very cramped, and it made it difficult to get the character's signatures and pictures. The food is good, but I prefer several of the other breakfast buffets for food-- this one doesn't have a waffle or an omelet station.
Saturday evening-- AK Pin event-- My DS and I went to the pin event at AK that evening-- and the food was to die for-- it was wonderful, incredible, on par with Jiko's. Also, there were several characters out for the entire evening-- plus we got to see Mowgli and the baby elephant as characters-- too cool. I have cut and pasted the menu here to give you an idea of the food:
Marinated Vine Ripened Tomato and Red Onion Salad with Cilantro Crispy Garden Greens with Assorted Dressings.
Turkey Breast with Sun Dried Cherry Chutney and Whole Seed Mustard.
Spiced Shredded Pork with Flatbreads and Caramelized Onion Compote.
Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Dried Tomatoes with Bowtie Pasta, Basil and Asiago.
Marinated Vine Ripened Tomato and Red Onion Salad with Cilantro Crispy Garden Greens with Assorted Dressings.
Turkey Breast with Sun Dried Cherry Chutney and Whole Seed Mustard.
Spiced Shredded Pork with Flatbreads and Caramelized Onion Compote.
Marinated Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven Dried Tomatoes with Bowtie Pasta, Basil and Asiago.
Seasonal Grilled Vegetables with Roasted Garlic.
Roasted Potatoes with Fresh Herbs.
Assorted Gourmet Rolls.
Assorted Fruit Cobblers.
Assorted Oven Fresh Cookies.
Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Assorted Teas.
Sodas & Bottled Water.
Two Complimentary Alcoholic Beverage Coupons.
Sunday-- Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic package-- This might be my favorite non-character buffet. Excellent service, great food-- I can live off the salads, the cornbread, and the fish. The BBQ Baked Beans, Roasted Sweet Potato Wheels with Rootbeer Bourbon Glaze, Marinated Seasonal Tomatoes with Buffalo Mozzarella were all excellent. My husband loved the meats and the potatoes-- and the desserts (for a man who has to work hard to gain weight, he eats lots of desserts when we are at WDW).
Monday-- Crystal Palace-- We had a very late seating as we were once again doing e ride night (which is definitely worth the money). This is my DS's favorite character meal-- and we like the food. Great character interaction, and the food was good. However, I didn't like the creme brulee (a bit too mealy) and the tiramisu (not enough flavoring), but the chocolate mousse bites, the key lime pie, and the peanut butter chocolate cake were excellent. Truthfully, at this restaurant, I love the salads (especially the black bean one-- really all of them) and the cornbread spoon bread. But my DH loves the pork and every thing else. Good service.
We did stop at the Electric Umbrella-- nobody was impressed. They would not serve the salad without the dressing, and the chicken planks were blah.
Tuesday-- A grand gathering breakfast at Tony's restaurant. I was running late which may have contributed to the horrid service, but I was not impressed. We were seated about 7 minutes after the rest of our party-- they did not take our order for 45 minutes-- we got to watch our companions eat-- and several wait staff stopped at the table, but would not take our order-- and then they got the kid's orders wrong-- so they had to go back. It's a plated meal-- my DH said it was okay not great. I had the healthy choice, which seemed to be good-- but I got literally 3 bites, then we had to meet Mickey-- and they had cleared the food away before we got back to the table-- they didn't tell us that we were supposed to have finished our meal before we met Mickey. So we paid $70 for a few bites of food and to meet Mickey-- which we had already done. Goofy, Chip and Dale stopped at the table, but the character interaction was quick and dismissive-- they ignored the teenagers, snubbed the 10 year old and the adults, and did say hi to my DS. Not my favorite meal.
