LegoMom3
WDW vet now exploring "Walt's Park!"
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
Ok, meant to do this long ago but lost Internet (AGAIN.....) so I'm waaaay behind on stuff!!!!
So, here's where we ate, followed by my reviews, for anyone who might be remotely interested....
1) Boatwrights (POR)
2) Crystal Palace (MK)
3) Biergarten (EP)
4) Trail's End (Fort Wilderness)
5) Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
6) Chef Mickey's (CR)
So, I will admit that Free Dining put a whole new twist on this Disney vacation. We've never eaten so much or so well on a WDW trip before! Got a chance to sample some places we probably otherwise couldn't afford.
Boatwright's
Had dinner here on our arrival night; it made sense since we were staying at Riverside! It also turned out to be probably the best meal we had all week, and not because other places were awful but because the food was truly amazing! I've seen bad reviews on this place here on the DIS but I won't knock it for a second. I had crabcake for the appetizer and the prime rib for dinner, and something called "Boatwright's potatoes" which were heavenly....YUM! My FIL had the potroast, which he was kind enough to share and it melted in your mouth.... I think we all had some sort of decadent chocolate cake for dessert, which we ended up comparing all other desserts to from there on out.
Crystal Palace Breakfast here on our first full day. Another thumbs-up! I love a buffet anyway, where you can sample all sorts of goodies. I even had some very thinly sliced smoked salmon! The picky kids had character waffles which they devoured, so they must have been good. Other than that I don't remember too much about which specific foods we all ate, as I was far too distracted by the characters coming around and making sure I got pictures. No complaints.
Biergarten After almost being late and my DH running what has to be a solid mile from the Epcot entrance to the Germany pavillion, we managed to hang on to our ADR here and settle down for a fun dinner. Another buffet, which was pretty good but I admit I go here more for the atmosphere and the fun entertainment (DH's side of the family is German so this is close to home for us). I wish there had been a bit more for the kids, but they ARE picky so I can't blame the restaurant! I would give it a "thumbs-sideways."
Trail's End Buffet Great place for some good old fashioned home cookin'! Probably much the same fare as they serve next door at the Hoop-de-Doo, but served buffet-style and without the antics. There was plenty of food and it was delicious. The BBQ ribs were awesome, as was the fried chicken. Loved the mashed potatoes and gravy, also the bisquits and cornbread. Mmmm....I'm drooling just thinking about this meal! A little lacking in the dessert category - I wished there was more to choose from (I think there were a couple types of pudding, and one or two types of cake) but what we had was very good.
Liberty Tree Tavern This was a last-minute ADR due to a change of touring plans, but was it ever good! Had a late lunch here. It was a HOT day so we were thrilled just to be inside and sitting down for a while. The portions here are HUGE! I had roast turkey with mashed potatoes and stuffing, gravy and green beans. Turkey was a tad on the dry side but overall a good meal. DH had potroast which was the single most enormous meal I saw all week! I didn't try it but he claims it was excellent. We were both too stuffed for dessert but tried it anyway - mine was an apple tart type thing with carmelized crust, and DH got something with pecans and caramel in it. For someone who doesn't normally go for caramel, he loved this. Kids had the mac-n-cheese (Stouffers) but were so hot and tired that no one ate much. Oh, and their meals came with a fresh fruit appetizer which was very fresh and delicious. (I was actually very impressed with the fresh fruit everywhere all week).
Chef Mickey's THE best breakfast we ate! Also the best coffee that DH and I had all week (it was a french roast; really good). The breakfast pizza was great, the donuts and danish were extremely fresh, the fruit was cold and fresh, and the eggs were hot and like eggs should be! (not chewy or rubbery or cold....blech!). Great character interaction and a fun show every so-many minutes.
For our non-TS meals we ate a lot at the POR food court. We loved the burgers (made fresh to order) and pizza!! Also they had these huge cookies we'd get for dessert that were awesome! Did breakfast here on our departure day and wished we'd done it sooner. Everything was fresh, made to order, and delicious.
Overall we LOVED Free Dining and would do it again!
So, here's where we ate, followed by my reviews, for anyone who might be remotely interested....
1) Boatwrights (POR)
2) Crystal Palace (MK)
3) Biergarten (EP)
4) Trail's End (Fort Wilderness)
5) Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
6) Chef Mickey's (CR)
So, I will admit that Free Dining put a whole new twist on this Disney vacation. We've never eaten so much or so well on a WDW trip before! Got a chance to sample some places we probably otherwise couldn't afford.
Boatwright's
Had dinner here on our arrival night; it made sense since we were staying at Riverside! It also turned out to be probably the best meal we had all week, and not because other places were awful but because the food was truly amazing! I've seen bad reviews on this place here on the DIS but I won't knock it for a second. I had crabcake for the appetizer and the prime rib for dinner, and something called "Boatwright's potatoes" which were heavenly....YUM! My FIL had the potroast, which he was kind enough to share and it melted in your mouth.... I think we all had some sort of decadent chocolate cake for dessert, which we ended up comparing all other desserts to from there on out.Crystal Palace Breakfast here on our first full day. Another thumbs-up! I love a buffet anyway, where you can sample all sorts of goodies. I even had some very thinly sliced smoked salmon! The picky kids had character waffles which they devoured, so they must have been good. Other than that I don't remember too much about which specific foods we all ate, as I was far too distracted by the characters coming around and making sure I got pictures. No complaints.
Biergarten After almost being late and my DH running what has to be a solid mile from the Epcot entrance to the Germany pavillion, we managed to hang on to our ADR here and settle down for a fun dinner. Another buffet, which was pretty good but I admit I go here more for the atmosphere and the fun entertainment (DH's side of the family is German so this is close to home for us). I wish there had been a bit more for the kids, but they ARE picky so I can't blame the restaurant! I would give it a "thumbs-sideways."
Trail's End Buffet
Great place for some good old fashioned home cookin'! Probably much the same fare as they serve next door at the Hoop-de-Doo, but served buffet-style and without the antics. There was plenty of food and it was delicious. The BBQ ribs were awesome, as was the fried chicken. Loved the mashed potatoes and gravy, also the bisquits and cornbread. Mmmm....I'm drooling just thinking about this meal! A little lacking in the dessert category - I wished there was more to choose from (I think there were a couple types of pudding, and one or two types of cake) but what we had was very good.Liberty Tree Tavern This was a last-minute ADR due to a change of touring plans, but was it ever good! Had a late lunch here. It was a HOT day so we were thrilled just to be inside and sitting down for a while. The portions here are HUGE! I had roast turkey with mashed potatoes and stuffing, gravy and green beans. Turkey was a tad on the dry side but overall a good meal. DH had potroast which was the single most enormous meal I saw all week! I didn't try it but he claims it was excellent. We were both too stuffed for dessert but tried it anyway - mine was an apple tart type thing with carmelized crust, and DH got something with pecans and caramel in it. For someone who doesn't normally go for caramel, he loved this. Kids had the mac-n-cheese (Stouffers) but were so hot and tired that no one ate much. Oh, and their meals came with a fresh fruit appetizer which was very fresh and delicious. (I was actually very impressed with the fresh fruit everywhere all week).
Chef Mickey's
THE best breakfast we ate! Also the best coffee that DH and I had all week (it was a french roast; really good). The breakfast pizza was great, the donuts and danish were extremely fresh, the fruit was cold and fresh, and the eggs were hot and like eggs should be! (not chewy or rubbery or cold....blech!). Great character interaction and a fun show every so-many minutes. For our non-TS meals we ate a lot at the POR food court. We loved the burgers (made fresh to order) and pizza!! Also they had these huge cookies we'd get for dessert that were awesome! Did breakfast here on our departure day and wished we'd done it sooner. Everything was fresh, made to order, and delicious.
Overall we LOVED Free Dining and would do it again!
