Dining Reviews From a First Timer

[DLmama]

Hello all! I've been reading dining reviews for over a year in preparation for my family's first trip to WDW and thought it'd be fun to add my own thoughts on where we chose to eat. First, let me introduce myself, DH and DS.



I'm Shannon, 35, and love anything and everything Disney. DH is R, 33, and also loves Disney. He's more into the art & animation, but has a soft spot for Chip & Dale. DS is A, 9, and he loves rides, although this trip he was much more anxious about the fast rides than he normally is. We were at WDW from June 16-25. We are from Nor Cal, so spend as much time as possible at Disneyland. Unfortunately, it isn't as much time as we'd like since we're still about 6 hours away. This was our first time to WDW and I don't think it'll be our last, although we probably won't get back until 2021. I'm thinking I'll plan around Christmas during the 50th anniversary. Anyway, I'm getting off track.

We chose to add the Disney dining plan this trip and I think we actually came pretty close to breaking even and maybe even a little bit ahead, thanks to the Dis for all the helpful information.

Day 1 - Wolfgang Puck Express
Day 2 - La Cantina de San Angel and Via Napoli
Day 3 - Pecos Bill and Cinderella's Royal Table
Day 4 - Yak & Yeti and Riverside Mill
Day 5 - Sci Fi and Star Wars dessert party
Day 6 - Akershus (was supposed to be Garden Grill, but I'll explain that later) and Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Day 7 - Be Our Guest and 'Ohana
Day 8 - Tusker House and Satul'i Canteen
Day 9 - Cosmic Ray's, Homecomin', and Happily Ever After dessert party
Day 10 - Riverside Mill

Welcome and I hope you enjoy reading my dining review!

 

[ml sumner]

Following and can't wait to hear about your review of some of the restaurants in your list.

 

[Daniela Rose]

Joining in! We're going in sept and have a lot of what's on your list.
Via Napoli
CRT
Akershus
Star Wars dessert party
HEA dessert party
Homecomin
Tusker house
Be our guest

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

 

[DLmama]

Wolfgang Puck Express

I ordered the Roasted Mushroom Pizza. Goat Cheese, Arugula and Garlic Cream Sauce.



I was terrible at remembering to take photos of our food, so I'll be relying on Google searches to help me out. This was delicious! DH & I shared this because what he ordered was even better.

He ordered the Bacon-wrapped Meatloaf Sandwich. Smoked Mozzarella, Garlic Aioli and Crispy Onion Rings served with House-made Chips.


The Google image was served with fries, but the sandwich looks the same. OMG, this was delicious! We each had half of it and I could've easily eaten the whole thing myself. The chips were ok, nothing special, but we still ate them all.

DS ordered the kid's pepperoni pizza, which looked like a good pepperoni pizza. He wouldn't share.

This was a solid choice for our first meal at WDW. We were staying at POR, so we had taken the boat over, which was beautiful. We stopped by Goofy's Candy Co. after dinner and DH & I made rice krispy treats and DS made an apple. It took us almost all week to eat those treats.

 

[nursejackie]

Wolfgang Puck Express


DS ordered the kid's pepperoni pizza, which looked like a good pepperoni pizza. He wouldn't share.

A kid after my own heart, I'm known as a non-sharer of pizzas too!

 

[DLmama]

La Cantina de San Angel

Being from CA, we love Mexican food! I, however, do not eat beans, so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get the nachos because the beans are mixed in with the meat. No big deal, I'll just get something else.

I ordered the Tacos de Pollo. Seasoned chicken, homemade corn tortillas, Mexican rice, refried black beans and red salsa. This I could order without the beans. Thanks again to Google images for the pictures.



DH ordered the Nachos. Tortilla chips topped with ground beef, nacho cheese, tomatoes (he ordered without), jalapenos, beans, sour cream.



DS ordered the kids Chicken Tenders, which came with tortilla chips. I think he was more interested in the chips than the chicken.

We really enjoyed our meals here. This is comfort food for us and we had no complaints. We found a great table right next to the water, so that was a plus. It was beautiful! We would definitely come back!

Via Napoli

This was not our favorite meal of the trip, unfortunately. We arrived about 15 minutes before our reservation time and were seated within about 5 minutes. Looking good so far. DS's favorite food is pepperoni pizza and could eat it all day, every day. Imagine his disappointment when only cheese pizza is on the kids menu and they won't substitute. Ok, no big deal, I can order the pepperoni pizza on the adult menu and give him a piece or two and he'll be happy, right? Not when you're dealing with a moody 9 year old who can't order it himself. Ugh. It didn't help that our waitress had a really thick Italian accent and it was very loud in the restaurant, so it was hard to hear/understand what she was telling us.

I ordered the Pepperoni Pizza - individual. Tomato sauce, pepperoni, tomato, mozzarella. However, I was brought a sausage pizza. I didn't see our waitress for awhile after the food was brought out, so I just ate it. DS didn't want any of mine after all and ate his kids meal.




DH ordered the Candele. Candle-stick pasta, sausage ragu, polpettine meatballs, mozzarella, ricotta. He said it was good, but nothing really standout about it.



DS ordered the Bocconcini (which was kinda funny because he couldn't say it). Breaded and fried mozzarella bites. His meal also came with an appetizer of either a salad or fruit and he didn't want either one. We ordered the fruit and it ended up being strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. They were fresh and yummy for the adults.

For dessert, I had the Zeppole di Caterina. Ricotta cheese fritters, served with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Now here is where I have to thank each and every person who mentioned these on the Dis! They were delicious! I was full by this point and still managed to eat them all.



DH had the Tiramisu. Mascarpone cream, espresso coffee, lady fingers, chocolate. He loved this! I tried it and didn't, but I don't really care for tiramisu, so that didn't surprise me.



DS had the Ruoto di Carretto. Vanilla Gelato Cookie Sundae. He liked it, but if I remember correctly, he didn't finish it. He basically ate the whipped cream and gelato and left the cookie.



I'm not sure that I would come here again. There are so many other choices at Epcot that I want to try before coming back. I think the pizza at Wolfgang Puck Express was better than the pizza that I had here.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

I love (and crave) La Cantina de San Angel. Your pics make me wish we were there.

 

[DrunkJam]

ooh, some good choices!
My DS would eat pepperoni pizza every day too if he was allowed!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Great start to your report! Where in Northern CA are you from? Fellow Californian here

 

[DLmama]

Great start to your report! Where in Northern CA are you from? Fellow Californian here

We're from San Jose. Where are you from?

 

[DLmama]

Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
I have to say, this may have been our favorite QS that we've had at Disney! We would LOVE to see this added to Disneyland!

Anyway, both DS and I ordered the beef nachos with no lettuce or tomato. Tortilla chips topped with seasoned ground beef, queso, tomatoes and lettuce. We loved the toppings bar! I think we ended up getting guacamole, red & green salsa, and shredded cheese. And I finally remembered to take pictures! These were yummy!



DH ordered the fajita platter. Served with barbacoa beef and chicken, with yellow rice, beans, and tortillas. He loved this!



As I said above, we loved this meal! We would definitely come back and eat here!

Cinderella's Royal Table
This was another great meal! I was really looking forward to eating here, even though some of the reviews that I read on the boards were less than stellar. It wasn't so much the food or character interaction as it was eating IN.THE.CASTLE! We don't have the opportunity to do that at Disneyland, so this was one of my must do things. DH went with it and DS was actually looking forward to eating in the castle AND meeting princesses. Score!

Unfortunately, this is yet another meal I forgot to photograph. Thank you Google images!

I ordered the Charcuterie Plate to start. I don't remember everything that was on it, but it was really good and I ate everything. Loved the little pickles! For my entrée, I ordered the Pan-seared All-Natural Chicken. Served over creamy goat cheese polenta and baby carrots with a madeira mushroom reduction. Oh wow! This was a delicious dish! If I had to criticize anything, it would be that the carrots were slightly undercooked and had a bit more crunch than I would've preferred, but that didn't stop me from eating them.



DH ordered the Beef & Shrimp. Grilled beef tenderloin with crushed fingerling potato confit, shrimp, and seasonal vegetables. He enjoyed this as well, but agreed with me on the carrots. I had a bite of the beef and it was really good, but I liked my chicken more.



DS ordered the kids beef tenderloin. Served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. This kid loves steak and was not disappointed. He won't touch mashed potatoes or green things most of the time, so he just ate the meat.

For dessert, I had the Jaq & Gus - Whipped cheesecake with strawberry cake, compressed strawberries, hibiscus meringue, and micro mint. YUM! I loved this, even though it wasn't your typical cheesecake. It was light and airy and not too heavy, which is exactly what I was hoping for.



DH had The Clock Strikes Twelve - Dark chocolate mousse with a dark chocolate ganache served with raspberry coulis. It's pretty much perfection on a plate if you love rich chocolate. Too rich for me, but DH loved it.



DS ordered the seasonal sorbet, which I'm pretty sure was lemon. He didn't eat much of it because he was too full.

We all loved our dinner here. The princesses were fun, but I would eat here even if it wasn't a character meal. It's really expensive, so I would probably only return for a special occasion, but it was really good. And there's nothing quite like being able to eat inside the castle.

 

[Deanie1]

I am really enjoying your dining review! We are heading to WDW and we always eat at Pecos Bill. I have not been since the new menu but your meals certainly looked very tasty.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

We're from San Jose. Where are you from?

Monterey Peninsula (Carmel Valley to be specific). Looking forward to the rest of your report!

 

[Kate FM]

Great post thanks for sharing!

 

[Thegeiers]

This is wonderful!!!! I appreciate the quick service pics as they seem harder to track down. Thanks for sharing!

 

[DLmama]

Yak & Yeti

We were really looking forward to this meal as the menu appealed to DH & I more than most. I'd mostly read about the famous dessert, which I couldn't wait to try, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I ordered the Crispy Honey Chicken - Tempura chicken, sugar snap peas, carrots, honey sauce served with choice of jasmine or brown rice. It was so hard to make a decision, but this was pretty good. And for some reason, I have a picture of dessert, but not our meals, so these are from Trip Advisor.



DH ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala - Boneless chicken breast marinated in yogurt and freshly ground herbs cooked in a traditional Masala sauce, jasmine rice, garlic naan bread. This is what I should have ordered! It was super flavorful and the chicken was tender and delicious!



DS ordered the chicken tenders and rice, but again, no pictures. It didn't look very exciting anyway, but he enjoyed it.

Now for dessert! I'd been dreaming about these fried wontons for about a year since I'd started researching restaurants. Did they live up to the hype? YES! Everything about this plate was delicious!



We would come here again, that's for sure! Even if it's only for dessert. There's so many more things I want to try.

Riverside Mill

I apologize, but I have no pictures of this meal either. Next time I decide to do a dining report, I'll do much better about taking pictures of our food.

I ordered the Swamp Burger without slaw - Served with Carolina pulled pork and kale slaw on a toasted onion Kaiser roll with choice of coleslaw or French fries. I had it with French fries. And this started my obsession with pulled pork during this trip. It was the best! Now, maybe that's because I live in CA and we're not exactly known for our BBQ, but I could not get enough of this. Delicious doesn't even come close.

DH ordered the build your own pasta plate. He got penne pasta with pesto, spinach, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. He enjoyed this very much, but wouldn't have gotten the pesto again. He said it was broken, so it was too oily.

DS ordered pasta with marinara and ended up eating it for two meals because it was such a large portion.

We weren't expecting much from a resort food court and were pleasantly surprised because it was all very good. We would end up having dinner here another night during our trip.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

Thanks for the Yak & Yeti review. We are trying it for the first time on our next trip.

 

[Mich123]

Great reviews! Thanks for sharing.

 

[OThopeful35]

Nice reviews so far! I'm a fellow Nor Californian too We love the food court at POR! Thanks for sharing. We did the DDP when my son was 9, he was not a fan.