Part 3 - my opinions of my trip - dining and snacks

[Sunshine1010]

March 13-20

Yep - got the dining plan and I'm glad we did.

California Grill - I am going to be honest here. I was not impressed with anything at this restaurant. I'm not sure what the hype is all about. The only thing worth mentioning was the sushi - it was excellent. But the other food - steak, potatoes, etc......not good. I asked for my steak MW and got it almost rare. I mean BLOOD everywhere. I would have asked to take it back, but I was so exhausted - and to be honest - full from my sushi appetizer that I didn't pursue it. It took the waitress 10 minutes for our first contact with her. One thing that disappointed me was that they didn't turn down the lights enough during WISHES - we mostly saw reflections of the lights in the windows. I've seen video where they turn the lights off all the way - I kinda expected that. One thing I noticed was the noise level. Wow - it was like a cafeteria. Nothing suttle, romantic about it.Would I got here again - no, not for a Signature dinner. One thing I didn't like is that there really isn't a waiting room....so you may eat with people sitting right next to you....kinda awkward. We had castle view window seats (upon request at the 2nd floor station), but I felt bad for other tables.

Wolfgang Puck Cafe - Been here before and loved EVERYTHING about it. From the waiter to the food...but this time....nope. Food was 'okay' (I had the veal and pork meatloaf), sushi was the same I'd get at the hospital cafeteria here (last time it was soooooooo much better). This restaurant was LOUD - but the last time we ate there was at lunch and it was sooooo peaceful. I'll only do lunch there from now on. Oh yeah - you can't get milk for the kids there on the dining plan. Most of the other places do - but not this one (FYI). Also, we sat near one of the cooks, and he was yelling and screaming at everyone. It was distracting.

The CS Morrocan - the chicken plate was good, but I didn't like the rest. We wanted to try a new food and we won't be going back. The bread was good though. It just wasn't for us. We ate in the little garden place they had and it was a very nice quiet lunch. (next to the bathrooms...he he)


The Noodle Terrace ( I think that's the name) at MK (CS) - egg rolls good, view good, everything else was like from a TV dinner. Sorry ---- won't be going back here either.

The taco place at MK - this was a very good meal, but they only put 2-3 teaspoons of meat on the taco. I was amazed at how little they give you. My poor husband got the taco salad and there wasn't even 1/4 cup of meat in it. I gave him one of my tacos and told him I wasn't hungry, just so he could get filled up. he he

The Turf and Bar Grill at SSR - HANDS DOWN our best dinner. AWESOME food.....I mean AWESOME. We'll make a point to come back to this place....we'll even go out of our way to eat there again.

Fulton's Crab House - YUMMY - this wasn't on the dining plan, but we tried it. I had the spinach salad with chicken, apples, potatoes, blue cheese and pecans. OH MY LORD - it was heaven!!!!!!! Service --- hhhmmmm, well, the waiter slipped me his number (yes, I'm married). I immediately told my husband....once were were OUT of the restaurant.

Liberty Inn - NOT impressed at all. Disappointed. The Harbour House (or whatever it's name is) has better food.

Casey's in MK - good chicken, but loud and chaotic. The secret - get there at 11am and eat - you can actually get a table. Carrot cake was good and drinks were BIG. Other CS's give you medium size drinks...these were HUGE.

Alfredo's - good as usual. A patron got up and sang opera....awesome. I had the alfredo --- yummy, yummy, yummy. They got my son's order wrong - but no big deal. I asked for meat sauce for his spaghetti, and they put the meat sauce OVER the marinara sauce....

Kona's - yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy. Everything about this place was yummy. We WILL be back.....

What I've learned - every restaurant will have good days and bad days. From the cooks, ambiance, waiters and food.......but, now that I'm a little more experienced with Disney - I can pick and choose the best of the restaurants. I won't be experimenting too much anymore.

Favorites:
Kona
The Turf Bar and Grill
O-Hana's
Boma's
.....so far, these are my favorites out of 3 trips.

Snacks - I made sure that I got GOOD snacks this time (pastries at France, Dole Whips, etc.....I didn't want to get 'just a coke' or 'just Doritos'. I didn't know this, but you can get BIG bags of chips at your resort for snacks - also Pop Tarts.

[sleepingbooty]

Thanks for the dining tips

[Maleficent's Dad]

Interesting waiter that you had at Fulton's!

Thanks for the dining report. I have to agree with you about restaurants having good and bad days (including the service).

Thanks for sharing!

[Strmchsr]

Thanks for the great report, Carolee! I'm just sliding this over to trip reports.

[HndrdPrcnt]

Good report. Sorry to hear of a bad experience at California Grill. We have had nothing but wonderful experiences here with awesome service, great food, and a great view of Wishes! For us, it is worth 2 TS credits every time!

[faline]

I've eaten at California Grill several times now and it's one of my favorites at Disney World. We've experienced great service and excellent food. Sorry you didn't have such a good experience there. I still remember when it was Top of the World with very soft lighting and it wasn't one large open room. In those days, it was much quieter there and the main focus was on the view outside the room rather than what was happening in the room.

Kona's is one of my favorites as well!

[Bethis26fan]

Thanks for sharing.

[ElenitaB]

Sorry you hit upon some bad days at what are some of our favorite restaurants. I've only had wonderful experiences at CG, and think that their goat cheese ravioli are some of the most wonderful things I've ever eaten in my life. I just might have to deviate from that next time though and try their sushi.

We had a bad experience once at Mama Melrose one year and it took a very long time to return. Now my DS wants to know when we're returning!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!