"No photos, please.." -a newbie's reviews, without a lot of paparazzi

[mousekatool]

That evening, we hit the monorail over to Epcot for dinner in Mexico. I had been to Epcot as a teenager, and remember eating in the pyramid, but I wanted to try the new place, so I made our ADR for La Hacienda.

We once again were seated immediately after checking in. The restaurant itself was really striking. We didn't have a seat right next to the window, but we could still look out over the water. The decor was upscale, and yet comfortable. Once again, I'm gonna borrow from the Disney food blog, because you have to see how cool this place is inside. My kids loved the lights - they reminded us of Moravian stars!

We ordered our drinks, and our server brought out chips and salsa. The chips were multi-colored, warm and nice and salty. I have read complaints about them, but they were nice and fresh when we were there. The salsas were both very good. The red one had a smoky chipotle flavor, and we liked it, but our favorite was the salsa verde.

DH and I order the mixed grill for 2, Parrillada "La Hacienda", which was flank steak, chicken, chorizo and veggies. It was a TON of food. The steak was a little dry, but had a nice chimichurri sauce. The chicken was also on the dry side, and had a smoky dry rub which gave it a good flavor. My DS LOVED the chorizo (or "little hot dogs", as he put it), and I agreed with him! But my favorite part of the meal was the veggies. I know there were the usual peppers and onions, but I seem to remember squash and zucchini, too. And I could have just eaten the roasted corn by itself! The meal was served with black beans and rice (both standard, nothing special), and corn tortillas.

DD had the kids' chicken tacos, and honestly, it was enough food for an adult. The plate had 2 large soft tacos with seasoned chicken, as well as rice and black beans. She wasn't all that excited about it, though, because she loves to eat cheese quesadillas at our local Mexican place, so Little Man ate a lot of hers.

For dessert, I had the empanada de Manzana. It was a big puff pastry with a tiny amount of apple filling, kinda disappointing. It came with dulce de leche ice cream (even though the allears menu says vanilla bean with Kahlua sauce). The ice cream was heavenly, though! DH got the Helado, which was a trio of Mexican ice creams. He actually got it for the kids, so he didn't eat any of it, but none was wasted. The flavors were mango, pineapple and strawberry, and all were pretty good - less creamy than regular ice cream and more like sorbets, I thought. DD got the churros with ice cream, which she declined to share.

I really debated about this ADR after all the negativity on the boards, but I have to say, I'm glad we tried it. I thought it was good, and the atmosphere was really nice. I really love spicy food, but I honestly did not think the food here was spicy at all. I do think the meats were a little dry, but otherwise it was a nice meal.

 

[mousekatool]

The following day, we returned to Epcot to spend the day. We sort of snacked around most of the morning, and finally decided on a late lunch in World Showcase. I kind of wanted to try the Moroccan place, but DH vetoed that. Italy smelled like heaven, but alas, there were no counter service places (really? no pizza joints in Italy??). We were all the way around to Japan when we finally agreed upon Yakitori House. I had the teriyaki chicken with rice, and DH had the teriyaki beef. We both felt like we were eating at the mall food court. It was ok, but I wouldn't go back unless I had no other dining options. Dessert was a piece of ginger cake (kind of strange, but I don't love ginger anyway) and a standard packaged cookie.

Probably the only real "miss" of our dining adventures.

 

[DLo]

Thanks for taking the time to review(even if there aren't a lot of pics) I am thinking about La Hacienda for our next trip. It had just opened last year and we weren't able to get an adr. We love Starring Rolls but usually just go there for b'fast - going to have to try lunch this time.

Keep up the good work.

 

[txtara]

Great reviews! I am trying to narrow down ressies for June and really want to hit O'hana. Keep hearing so many mixed reviews...thanks for your opinion.

 

[mousekatool]

After a wonderful day at Epcot, we went back to our resort for a little rest, then hopped the monorail over to the Contemporary to our dinner at Chef Mickey's. It was a little confusing once you get off the monorail - no clear signage to point the way, so we rolled the dice and got lucky. We checked in and were sent to the "photo" line, where we had our pics taken with a Mickey statue. Then, we headed to the waiting area, which was packed. Luckily, we sat there no more than 5 minutes before we were seated. Our table was in a smaller dining area at the back of the restaurant, which was nice for several reasons. First, most of the noise (and it was pretty loud in there) was in the main dining area. Also, we had a nice view of the pool. And finally, we were close to the character entrance to the restaurant, so we were among the first to be met and greeted. They started making the rounds almost as soon as we were seated- Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. I felt that they each spent an adequate amount of time with us to get hugs and pictures.

In the meantime, we tried to hustle to the buffet in between visits. I'll be perfectly honest, I really didn't eat that much that night. We had snacked all day at Epcot, so I wasn't starving. I don't even really remember what was on the buffet, which was surprising, since I went 3 times to fill plates for me and both of the kids! I know the "kids' section" was pretty basic- the typical Disney chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, cheese pizza, peas, and I think pasta. I ate a big salad, but wasn't very impressed with the selection on the salad bar. If I ate anything off the hot bar, I don't even recall. I know I went up there, and the only things I remember they had were peel and eat shrimp, some type of cold pasta, and a roast beef (prime rib?) carving station. DH thought it was ok, but not as good as, say, a Golden Corral. The dessert selection was equally uninspiring. There were chocolate chip cookies that looked good, but had absolutely no flavor, some Oreo cookies with chocolate mousse on top, tiny cheesecake tarts, ice cream/toppings, and I think one other dessert item.

Honestly, I didn't expect a gourmet meal, here, and I wasn't disappointed. I mainly did it for the character interaction, but since we went at a slow time of year, we had actually already seen all the characters in the parks. Also, it was a little annoying to have to pay OOP for the picture,(but we did, anyway), when a photo was included at Akershus. The place was loud, and the buffet area was not very well kept. It was edible, and we got the character time we wanted.

The take home message: If you're on the DDP, and don't want to use park time to meet characters, do it. I wouldn't pay OOP for this meal. Would I go back? Hmmmm.....I doubt it. This was the least enjoyable meal we had in the World.

 

[mousekatool]

Our last day was spent at MK. We started in the Frontierland section, and everyone was ready soon for an early lunch. I had considered Columbia Harbor House, but we really didn't want fried fish, etc., so our next option was Pecos Bill's. It was early, so not busy, yet. I walked up to a self-serve kiosk while DH took the kids to find a table (I had read they make the entire party stay in line and be seated together, but nobody said a word, I guess because it was a slow time of year). The only problem I encountered was that DD wanted a plain jelly sandwich (she doesn't like peanut butter), but they only sell the Uncrustables PB&J, so we had to rethink her order.

DH and I both had the 1/3 lb. Angus cheeseburger, his with fries, and mine with apples. The burgers were actually pretty good. Hot off the grill, and not overcooked. We thought they were much better than the burgers we had at Capt. Cook's. The toppings bar was well stocked, and I decorated mine with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and melted cheese, plus ketchup, mustard and mayo. The only thing I didn't love was the bun -I had read complaints about the whole grain bun, but the taste didn't bother me. I'm just not a fan of a huge bun, but that problem was easily remedied by tearing part of the top off.
It was nice to have a fruit option as a side, too. DD had the kids' turkey sandwich, which was big enough for her to share with DS. She had the standard grapes and chocolate chip cookie as sides. For dessert, DH had the carrot cake, which was very sweet - I mean, the icing was like pure sugar! I had the chocolate cake, and it was yummy.

We liked this meal. The restaurant was huge, and we didn't feel like we were sitting on top of anyone. The food was good, and the portions were big. No complaints, here!

 

[Microcell]

Great reviews! I am trying to pick a couple restaurants so it really helps to get your take on things!

 

[mrssmith06]

Great info!

 

[mousekatool]

We had a wonderful last day at the MK, but our dinner ADR at Le Cellier beckoned, so we hopped the monorail over to Epcot. I was very excited (and nervous) about this meal, as it seems to be all the rage on the boards. We checked in and stood in the beautiful gardens outside the restaurant for about 5 minutes before being called in. We were seated near the kitchen, which worried me a bit, but it never was a problem.

Now, the food. We were served our drinks, and our waiter brought out fresh, hot bread. We wanted to give them all a fair shake, but we did truly end up liking the pretzel bread the most. Our least favorite was the multi-grain - it was a bit tough and stale tasting. I went OOP for a bowl of the cheddar cheese soup I had heard so much about. It was really good, but not exactly what I was expecting. It was really more like a potato soup in taste and consistency, where I had imagined a more thick and cheesy one. Still, I enjoyed it.

DH, Mr. Red Meat, had the NY Strip with Bercy Butter.

He thought it was excellent. A perfect rare, a good cut of meat, and well seasoned.

I had been dreaming of the Filet with Mushroom Risotto for weeks.

Holy cow. The meat was so tender, I could have cut it with a butter knife. It melted in my mouth. The risotto was creamy and the mushrooms gave it a nice, hearty texture. I thought the whole dish was salty, but not excessively so.

I had hoped that DD would order the kids' steak with veggies. I was so excited to have a kids' menu that included more than just the typical chicken nuggets and hot dogs. And what did she have? Pizza and grapes. Oh well. She and DS shared, and he ate some of the steaks, too.

For dessert, DS and I shared a maple creme brulee, which he ended up eating most of. It was very good, but he did not like the caramelized sugar on top, so I got to eat that. DH had the bumbleberry cobbler, which we both thought was VERY tart. It definitely needed the sweetness of the ice cream to be palatable, IMO. DD had the standard ice cream sundae.

So, did the great Le Cellier meet my expectations? YES! It was DH's favorite meal of the trip, and I thought it was excellent. Now, would I use 2 TS credits for it? Don't know. We were lucky to get in before it becomes a signature.

 

[mousekatool]

Sadly, our wonderful week at Disney had to come to an end. But to finish off our dining credits, we decided to have a bon voyage breakfast at Capt. Cook's before we hit the road.

I already knew what I wanted...Tonga Toast! Another of those Disney foods whose fame is blown up into mythic proportions. Would it stand up to the hype? The quick answer is YES! It was delicious, albeit a little on the greasy side. My order was enough for 2 people, really, and came with a side of bacon. DH had the croissant breakfast sandwich (bacon, eggs, and cheese on a croissant), and he enjoyed it. The kids split a Mickey waffle. (Yes, I know it's not a kids' CS credit, but the CM at the register gave it the ok, maybe since they were our last credits.) It was a nice way to end our stay!

 

[DiggleBelle]

Thanks for the reviews.

I just can't decide about Chef Mickey's, have never been so maybe once? but then like you said in the off season (when we are going) we can see all the characters in the parks with little wait. Hmmmm. Still have time to decide.

Glad your family had a fun trip.

 

[kayjaybe]

Thanks for all of the reviews! I really enjoyed reading them.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you for taking the time to post your reviews - great reading - and despite your title, your pics were yummy!
We'll be trying some of your same ADR's in August this year - LTT & La Hacienda San Angel. Tried to pick places we haven't already eaten at before.
From your description, LTT sounds pretty much like what I expected. Thought the kids might like the "Early American" aspect.
Chose La Hacienda specifically for the view of Illuminations - hope we're not disappointed.
But what the hay - we'll be in WDW, right?!?
Thanks again for your reviews!

 

[mousekatool]

As another bonus, I thought I'd share how we used our snack credits. I'm always interested to see how other people utilize them. We're not huge eaters anyway, and don't snack much, so I was a bit worried about wasting them. Here's the rundown:

4 @ Main Street Bakery for breakfast items (see previous post)
2 @ HS for a soft pretzel and soda
2 @ Epcot for a soda and a water
2 @ Karamelle Kuche in Germany at Epcot for some caramel popcorn (Holy cow, this stuff was soooooooo good!! The smell alone was worth the trip!), and a humongous caramel covered rice krispy treat
3 for Mickey rice krispy treats to bring home

I'm pretty sure we used the rest to buy milk for DS to have with his meals. Most of the TS places provided it, but none of the CS places did, since he wasn't old enough to be on the DDP.

We probably didn't make the best use of the snacks, but hey- it worked for us.

The only things we went OOP for (besides the soup at Le Cellier) were a beer for DH in Germany, and a Grey Goose Slushie for me in France.

Our overall thoughts on the DDP were that it worked well for this trip, since we didn't have to pay for DS, and DD still liked the kids' menu items. We ran the numbers, and came out on the deal. It was really nice to be able to just order what I wanted from a menu and not worry about the cost. I would definitely consider it again next time, but I would also do exactly what we did this time and calculate the costs based on where and what we wanted to eat.

So, I hope you all have gotten some useful info from this review. I certainly enjoyed doing the research for it!!

 

[mkandjpsmom]

Great reviews!

 

[chmbnaut66]

Great Reviews. I am glad that someone else compared Chef Mickey's to a Golden Corral! We went there two and a half years ago to celebrate my daughter's 4th birthday and I was very dissapointed compared to having visited previously.

Swore that I would never go back, now my older daughter is BEGGING to go there for her 8th birthday! I just can't do it!

WE are going next week and have ADR's for Park Faire, Crystal Palace, Ohana, Whispering Canyon. I also want to have breakfast at the bakery in MK and Starring Rolls in DHS. After your review, I am thinking about getting lunch at Starring Rolls with desserts to die for!!!

Thanks again!!!