Dining Reviews - August 2011 Pt. 2

[Mickey'sGirl]

Part 2
You can find Part 1 here

Biergarten – Dinner
Food 4/5 Service 3/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Overall 4/5

We had only been to Biergarten once before, on a fellow INTERCOTTEE’s good advice. My German husband really enjoyed that experience (as did the rest of us), and when we found out our friend, the other INTERCOTTEE was going to be at WDW with his family at the same time as us, we made a reservation for the whole gang of us – 9 adults and 1 child.
The buffet is made up of many German staples including Rouladen and Sourbraten as well as sausages, dumplings, chicken, salads, breads and cheeses. Overall, the food is very good and we all got our fill, even the fussy younger two (his son and my youngest), who both found items like schnitzel and pretzel rolls to fill the hole! The men enjoyed huge steins of Schöfferhofer Weizen, and the ladies had the wine flight. My only negative comment is on the service. Our plates were not cleared in a timely fashion and soft drinks were not readily offered, but he was a nice guy. The atmosphere is fantastic when the band starts up, and people go to dance (including our friend’s youngest son). I think the Biergarten is a fabulous place to go with a large group …. There is no shortage of food, good drinks available, entertainment to enjoy as well as a good opportunity to have a good visit at the long tables. We will definitely be making a return visit!!

Sci-Fi Dine In – Unscheduled Lunch
Food 4/5 Service 5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Overall 4.5/5

Ok, this place is not the Ritz or gourmet cooking or anything, but you know what you are getting. We had not planned on eating here, but one day at lunch time we were just so darned hot, and nothing was turning the kid’s cranks at the Backlot, and I really wanted to sit in the cool and drink gallons of iced tea, so we asked, and we got a picnic table at the back of the Sci-Fi at lunchtime. Here’s what we had:
Brian got the Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwich - With provolone and bruschetta topping served on a Kaiser Roll with fries, and I got the Smoked Turkey Sandwich - smoked turkey, crispy bacon, lettuce, tomato with avocado mayonnaise on multigrain bread served with cucumber salad, then we traded off half of our sandwich. Both were very good, but we agreed that the Turkey Sandwich is a very very very good sandwich, and could easily be shared if you were looking for a lighter meal.
Harry had a Bacon Cheeseburger with Fries (though he doesn’t eat the fries, so I don’t know why he orders them) which was ketchup-on-his-face terrific, and Euan had a hamburger and fries.
The food was not fancy, nor was it spectacular, but it was very good, and the service was very good, and the cold drinks were flowing while we watched the horrible B-Movies on the Drive In screen. This was one of the best decisions we made during our entire holiday. It was an awesome cool Oasis providing just what we needed in the August heat.


Chef Mickey’s - Dinner
Food 3/5 Service 4/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Overall 4/5

Chef Mickey’s is much maligned for it’s food, but honestly, you don’t go there for fine dining. You go there to get well fed while your kids have a chance to meet the Mouse in a comfortable, controlled setting. We were there because it was our youngest son’s choice.

We arrived along with the throngs of other people at 5pm for dinner. It was noisy and chaotic, but that’s what we have come to expect. Here’s what we ate:
The buffet consists of many old standards, but the highlights at this dinner were the roast turkey (neither my husband nor I are particularly fond of roasted poultry, but this turkey was so good, we both went back for seconds), the stroganoff and the goat cheese fresh pasta. Harry enjoyed the ravioli (the sauce was way too bland for my liking), Euan really enjoyed the peel and eat shrimp, the bananas and the ice cream machine. We all left feeling well fed, and that we enjoyed our food.

We had lots of good character interaction. The guys were all into their roles as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Pluto, and it was a lot of fun.


Boma – Unscheduled Breakfast
Food 3.5/5 Service 4/5 Atmosphere 3/5 Overall 3.5/5

We had originally planned to go to 1900 Park Fare on our last morning, but changed our minds in favour of Boma since we were staying at AKL. This way, also, we could just go there when we were packed up and ready to go instead of being bound by an ADR.

We were seated quickly and got some fabulous juice and some coffee. The coffee pot was only enough for one cup each, but neither of us cared because it was that Nescayuck (I wish I had known that we could have gotten a press of Kenyan). The juice was very good though.

The set up for this buffet needs to be reworked. There was a line up 50 people long at the “start” of the buffet because of the Omelet station. It was only after a passing server told all of us to just go and get what we want from the buffet if we weren’t omletting that things improved. The highlight of the buffet was again the turkey (I don’t eat very much meat, and especially not much poultry, but this was sooo good). It was served with a chile paste that was really fabulous (and the chef recommended trying it with eggs, so Brian did). I didn’t care for the Bobotie (it was undercooked in my opinion), but loved the selection of fruits. This was a nice way to finish off our holiday, and to say farewell to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but I don’t think we’ll rush back there unless we are staying there again.

[DisneyBunch5]

Great reviews.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Thanks for the reviews

[Mysttree]

Thank you for your reviews! Nice job of giving all the pertinent info.

[Katzateer]

Glad you liked SciFi I keep hoping a spot will open for our trip next week. thanks for the report!

[darthmacho]

More great reviews! I for one, don't see what's so bad about the food at Chef Mickey's. I'd say it's basic buffet fare, but the execution has always been good on my visits, nothing overcooked, undercooked, or unpalatable. I don't expect fancy, but that doesn't mean the food can't be good. I think you captured that beautifully in your review. Well done.

[SBETigg]

Biergarten is one of those places I only needed to visit once. Maybe twice if I ever bring grandkids along (far in the future). But it's just not my thing. So glad you had some happy surprises with a spontaneous stop at Sci-Fi, and the change for your last breakfast.

[Christine]

You forgot abuelos!! Lol!

[ElenitaB]

Sci-Fi has actually become one of my favorites... they had a great veg entree, and it's cool, dark and has great atmosphere. Glad you guys had a nice meal there.

on your Biergarten meal. Sounds like one of these days we just might need to go visit.

Thanks for sharing!

[KylesMom]

While the food may be a bit bland, nothing hits the spot like Sci-Fi on a hot day. And it doesn't hurt that it's right around the corner from the new STAR TOURS! LOL

What a great group to experience Biergarten with. Our only hold-back? With just the three of us, I'm concerned about the rest of the folks who would be seated at the table. I could only hope for a family/group like you guys!

We usually do Chef M's for breakfast only. This time around we did dinner after many years, and while I was catching a horrible cold & didn't taste the food much, DH thought that all of the food (and service) was fab. Guess we'll be substituting breakfast (at $102 w/TiW discount) for the dinner (at $147 w/TiW discount with cocktails) in the future! DS wants me to find the recipe for the Saffron Rice, it was so great.

Great dining reports, Jenn. Thanks!

[January-2007]

Thanks for reporting!