Our Dining Reports

[Jen1984]

We're back from our trip (3 weeks now, writing this is helping me to get over the blues!) We stayed off site near SeaWorld for 12 nights, and the last 2 nights in a 2 bedroom villa at AKL that I had booked as a surprise.

Dinner at Ohana, with a cocktail at the Tambu Lounge, than Wishes on the Poly Beach

This was a perfect first night, and definitely something we'll do again. It was our first time at Ohana, and I was a bit worried that the meat would be quite tough (as per some reviews), but not in the slightest. The dessert was gorgeous, but unfortunately we hadn't listened to our lovely server who kept telling us to leave room for our dessert, and only managed a few spoonfuls! We really lucked out, had gorgeous food with great service, and my stepson loved the entertainment- also watched the torch lighting ceremony first which was fun! Oh, for a lapu lapu now!

Lunch at Via Napoli: I was really looking forward to this based on the reviews I've seen (and the fact I loved the pizza in Naples!) and had told my family how fantastic it was going to be. We thought it was OK, and nothing special. Maybe they were having an off day, or maybe my expectations were too high, but something just didn't click for us, so not sure when we will be trying again. We had the fritto misto starter (which was quite nice), and a shared a large pizza (the one that is meant to serve 2-3) between 4 of us- I think that we had half pepperoni/half prosciutto & melon.

Lunch at Tusker House: We all loved this! Last time we did the breakfast, but fancied a bit of a change, and we were so glad we did. The food was fantastic, lovely meats and salads, breads and grains, with all different types of sauces and chutneys. It's by far my favourite Disney buffet. Character interaction was great, the place isn't too noisy, definitely a must do for us. Their is something for everybody, even for picky children.

Dinner at Hollywood & Vine: We only booked this for the Fantasmic Dining package, and it was fine. I couldn't pinpoint anything that was actually wrong with the place or the food, and if I remember rightly we were pretty tired and for some reason not particularly hungry. The service was very good, the man made a real effort to chat with us, and gave my stepson a pin, which made his day.

Lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express: This is always a must-do for us, and IMHO the best CS on property by far. I had the rotisserie chicken with garlic mash, which was so moist and flavourful. My stepson had the spaghetti Bolognese, which he enjoyed (although he said that it wasn't as nice as mine- already a bit of a charmer!)

Breakfast at Boma: Really enjoyed this. We were a bit too excited at having checked into this beautiful hotel to properly sample everything but the food we did try was great. I'll definitely be trying a dinner for our next stay.

Dinner at Chef MIckey's: Now I was DREADING this place, but I was very pleasantly surprised! Yes, it was very loud and chaotic- to be expected- and we did need to wait a very long time for all of the characters to come round, but it was fun! I was also very surprised by the quality of the food that was on offer. We had sushi, beautifully cooked beef, crab claws (!) and some lovely salads. My stepson was very happy that we got to see Minnie and Mickey for the last time. We then watched Wishes from the outside area at the Contemporary (I had to play the soundtrack on my phone, as I can't watch it without the music- my family thought I was nuts!)

I tried desperately to make my family have lunch at BOG (I had managed to get a booking for the evening 6 months earlier, but due to it being a weird time and not really fitting in with our plans, I cancelled it in a fit of insanity. I couldn't convince any of them that it was OK to a) eat lunch at 10.30am or b) queue for maybe an hour. Some people, huh? There's always next time....

Sunshine Seasons: We had a lovely couple of desserts here (strawberry shortcake and key lime I think) and a lovely cup of tea- being from the UK we were getting desperate at this point!

Our last, and actually favourite place, was off property. The Bonefish Grill. I think there are a couple in Orlando, but definitely worth a drive. The seafood was amazing, the staff really know their stuff, were very happy to make suggestions, or offer substitutions, and had a very nice wine list (including lots of wines by the glass) . The price was very reasonable, ($28 for 2 lobster tails, with drawn butter and 2 sides of choice/ $16 shrimp & scallops). We ate there twice during our stay- would have gone back more if we had found the place earlier!

[Pop Centurion]

Nice reviews.

I've been hearing a lot of people say that Via Napoli has slowly gone downhill since opening. We ate there last November & were slightly disappointed compared to our visit there 2 years earlier.

[Kerry823]

We ate at Via Napoli the last time we were fortunate to book during free dining. We actually thought the food was terrible and won't be returning. I was very surprised and my husband loves Italian and he was not at all impressed.

[VacationDisney]

Loved reading your reviews. We had the same impression of Ohana. We were very pleasantly surprised that we liked it as much as we did. We'll go back

[TheVBs]

Great reviews! Thank you so much for sharing. I had no idea that dinner at Chef Mickey's included sushi and crab claws! This just made my list.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the reviews sounds wonderful. Ohanas is a must do for us

[buzznwoodysmom]

Great reviews! We love Ohana!!!!!!

We have a Bonefish Grill just a few miles from home and have NEVER had a bad meal there. Our favorite thing at our local Bonefish is the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer! It's the best!!!

[Jen1984]

The server recommended that we get the shrimp but we didn't listen! We had the ahi tuna instead which was very yummy still!

Thanks for all of your comments!

[VWL Mom]

Thanks for the great reviews!

[Anthony007]

We thought Via Napoli was delicious for lunch, perhaps you had an off day.

We also were shocked at how nice Chef Mickeys was, we haven't been for a few years and were not fans the first time we went. We decided to try again since our two year old would love mickey. We will definitely be returning.

[Jen1984]

We thought Via Napoli was delicious for lunch, perhaps you had an off day.

We also were shocked at how nice Chef Mickeys was, we haven't been for a few years and were not fans the first time we went. We decided to try again since our two year old would love mickey. We will definitely be returning.

I honestly think that my expectations may have just been too high. I've spent far too long looking at reviews and menus, and on here, that I expected it to be absolutely sublime- I think that it's something that we are all guilty of! I probably will try it again, but there are just so many other restaurants and too few meal times!