Beth Y
04-02-2001, 01:18 PM
Having received good info from this board on places to eat on my recent trip to Orlando, I thought I would post a report on where we ate, as this is "the season" for trips to Disneyworld and others might be interested. I would be interested in hearing others trip reports on other destinations too, particulary regarding eating. I know many on this board are frequent travelers and, although others Boards have trip reports, I do not always trust their dining reports. If you aren't a person who knows good cooking, how am I going to trust your restaurant picks? Anyway, here goes....
On the advice of this forum, we ate at Wolgang Pucks in Downtown Disney. We went to the Cafe, as opposed to the express or the fine dining restaurant upstairs. In a word, it delivered. The prices were the most reasonable we saw on the trip...average entree choice was $12 to $17, unless you choose the steak or one of the more upscale fish dishes. The servings were generous and the service great. Hubby got pizza, which was good, I had pumpkin ravioli, which was great, although heavy on the browned butter; our friend got the meatloaf which was really huge and good, although rich (they use three meats including lamb). Our two year old had sushi and ice cream, which she devoured, as well as a good portion of our calamari appetizer. Overall, the best dining experience we had on the trip.
The 2 year old and I went to the Pooh character breakfast at Artist Point/Wilderness lodge. It was $20 for adults for all you can eat (the bring it to you, no buffet). The food was standard breakfast fare and darn good. This was one of the highlights of the trip and one of the things that Disney does best, as all the employees just dote on the kids and make it a great morning.
We also ate at Gloria Estefan's "Bongo's", also in Downtown Disney. The food was, as you would expect, Cuban. It was pretty good, although not great, not that I am an expert on Cuban food. GAil, they had boliche, ropas viegas, etc. But the highlight was the great band (we ate in the bar) Lots of people dancing salsa and at one point some older kids got up with their Moms and did a conga line. The employees jumped right in and got them hats and maracas. Fun place, even though the guys my husband was taking to dinner did not like the choice cause they couldn't talk (no, really, I did not pick it so that I didn't have to listen to them talk science!! Not me!)
One night we had sushi at a great place on International Drive called Hanamizuki. A quiet getaway from the Disney madness. The sushi and soba noodles were great. I would highly recommend it.
We were only there 2 1/2 days so that is all I have to report. I must say that I am not dying to go back as the crowds at all the DIsney stuff were just soooooo huge that I could not take it. Magic Kingdom was so crowded. Plus, I do not see why I should pay $50 a person to go to a place that is mobbed with people and mostly stores and bad restaurants. I got little more out of Magic Kingdom than I did out of Downtown Disney and Downtown DIsney is free!
I must add a note that I can strongly recommend going to Cirque de Soliel. It is amazing and well worth the money. For those that don't know it is a French circus (acrobatics and theatrics, not lions and elephants). It was the most amazing thing I have seen. I would not recommend it for young kids, as the current production is a little dark (you know those crazy French), but older kids will love it.
On the advice of this forum, we ate at Wolgang Pucks in Downtown Disney. We went to the Cafe, as opposed to the express or the fine dining restaurant upstairs. In a word, it delivered. The prices were the most reasonable we saw on the trip...average entree choice was $12 to $17, unless you choose the steak or one of the more upscale fish dishes. The servings were generous and the service great. Hubby got pizza, which was good, I had pumpkin ravioli, which was great, although heavy on the browned butter; our friend got the meatloaf which was really huge and good, although rich (they use three meats including lamb). Our two year old had sushi and ice cream, which she devoured, as well as a good portion of our calamari appetizer. Overall, the best dining experience we had on the trip.
The 2 year old and I went to the Pooh character breakfast at Artist Point/Wilderness lodge. It was $20 for adults for all you can eat (the bring it to you, no buffet). The food was standard breakfast fare and darn good. This was one of the highlights of the trip and one of the things that Disney does best, as all the employees just dote on the kids and make it a great morning.
We also ate at Gloria Estefan's "Bongo's", also in Downtown Disney. The food was, as you would expect, Cuban. It was pretty good, although not great, not that I am an expert on Cuban food. GAil, they had boliche, ropas viegas, etc. But the highlight was the great band (we ate in the bar) Lots of people dancing salsa and at one point some older kids got up with their Moms and did a conga line. The employees jumped right in and got them hats and maracas. Fun place, even though the guys my husband was taking to dinner did not like the choice cause they couldn't talk (no, really, I did not pick it so that I didn't have to listen to them talk science!! Not me!)
One night we had sushi at a great place on International Drive called Hanamizuki. A quiet getaway from the Disney madness. The sushi and soba noodles were great. I would highly recommend it.
We were only there 2 1/2 days so that is all I have to report. I must say that I am not dying to go back as the crowds at all the DIsney stuff were just soooooo huge that I could not take it. Magic Kingdom was so crowded. Plus, I do not see why I should pay $50 a person to go to a place that is mobbed with people and mostly stores and bad restaurants. I got little more out of Magic Kingdom than I did out of Downtown Disney and Downtown DIsney is free!
I must add a note that I can strongly recommend going to Cirque de Soliel. It is amazing and well worth the money. For those that don't know it is a French circus (acrobatics and theatrics, not lions and elephants). It was the most amazing thing I have seen. I would not recommend it for young kids, as the current production is a little dark (you know those crazy French), but older kids will love it.