I'll try to summarize the dining experience all in one place instead of day by day...
We had the PLA rotation which in my opinion is the best if you can get it. Formal night in Parrot Cay just would seem silly. Tropical night in any other restaurant but Parrot Cay would seem silly as well. We had early seating which has it's positive and negative points. For young kids, I think it's better but it is more rushed. I really like seeing the show after dinner rather than before.
Our servers were only OK. We were at a fairly large table (11 people) and were always the last served so sometimes we were just finishing our entree while tables around us were being cleared and set up for the second seating. This was true even though on half of the nights 5 of our tablemates chose not to eat with us. We rarely saw our head server (until tip time!!). We were extremely lucky in that we were seated with a great couple from Canada who had a daughter who was my DD's age. They were instant best friends and we got along fabulously with the parents. The food in the dining rooms was generally good. It was best in Lumiere's, followed by Animator's Palate and mostly so-so in Parrot Cay. The things they do well, they do very well (like the lobster and chocolate lava cake) and the things they do not-so- well are pretty poor. The food definately needs to be served hotter. Our server just couldn't seem to get a handle on the fact that sometimes I wanted both an appetizer and a salad. He was also thrown completely off one night when I ordered the chicken strips off of the children's menu (they are really good). Beverage service was erratic. They took great care of the kid's requests, but the adults were pretty much ignored. I was glad that we had purchased the classic wine package as it simplified things somewhat and was a pretty good deal with some nice wines available.
The food and service in Palo is fantastic!! We had both brunch and dinner there. It's the equivalent of some of the nicer restaurants I've eaten in in big cities such as Houston, Dallas or New Orleans. If only all the food and service could have been this great!!
We mostly ate breakfast at Topsiders with the exception of the Character breakfast. I thought breakfast at Topsiders was very good. Something for everyone including my "vacation breakfast" of bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon. Yum. The chocolate croissants were great too. Eating outside is a great vacation pleasure too. The Character breakfast was fun and entertaining but the food was mediocre at best (like most meals in Parrot Cay).
My absolute favorite lunch choice was Lumiere's. The food and service were second only to Palo. The Topsiders american buffet was nearly inedible; lunch was saved by a burger from Pluto's. The snacks at Pluto's were just right, a little something to keep you happy by the pool. I only wish they had the chicken strips from the dining room instead of the "chicken" nuggets. Never got around to having any of Pinnochio's pizza. My DD loved Scoops and I thought it was great to have too. The whole and sliced fresh fruit were a really nice touch. We used the 24 drink station alot for ice water, coffee, tea and big Ziplocks of ice for our soft-sided cooler.
All this writing about food is making me hungry...time for lunch...more later.
We had the PLA rotation which in my opinion is the best if you can get it. Formal night in Parrot Cay just would seem silly. Tropical night in any other restaurant but Parrot Cay would seem silly as well. We had early seating which has it's positive and negative points. For young kids, I think it's better but it is more rushed. I really like seeing the show after dinner rather than before.
Our servers were only OK. We were at a fairly large table (11 people) and were always the last served so sometimes we were just finishing our entree while tables around us were being cleared and set up for the second seating. This was true even though on half of the nights 5 of our tablemates chose not to eat with us. We rarely saw our head server (until tip time!!). We were extremely lucky in that we were seated with a great couple from Canada who had a daughter who was my DD's age. They were instant best friends and we got along fabulously with the parents. The food in the dining rooms was generally good. It was best in Lumiere's, followed by Animator's Palate and mostly so-so in Parrot Cay. The things they do well, they do very well (like the lobster and chocolate lava cake) and the things they do not-so- well are pretty poor. The food definately needs to be served hotter. Our server just couldn't seem to get a handle on the fact that sometimes I wanted both an appetizer and a salad. He was also thrown completely off one night when I ordered the chicken strips off of the children's menu (they are really good). Beverage service was erratic. They took great care of the kid's requests, but the adults were pretty much ignored. I was glad that we had purchased the classic wine package as it simplified things somewhat and was a pretty good deal with some nice wines available.
The food and service in Palo is fantastic!! We had both brunch and dinner there. It's the equivalent of some of the nicer restaurants I've eaten in in big cities such as Houston, Dallas or New Orleans. If only all the food and service could have been this great!!
We mostly ate breakfast at Topsiders with the exception of the Character breakfast. I thought breakfast at Topsiders was very good. Something for everyone including my "vacation breakfast" of bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon. Yum. The chocolate croissants were great too. Eating outside is a great vacation pleasure too. The Character breakfast was fun and entertaining but the food was mediocre at best (like most meals in Parrot Cay).
My absolute favorite lunch choice was Lumiere's. The food and service were second only to Palo. The Topsiders american buffet was nearly inedible; lunch was saved by a burger from Pluto's. The snacks at Pluto's were just right, a little something to keep you happy by the pool. I only wish they had the chicken strips from the dining room instead of the "chicken" nuggets. Never got around to having any of Pinnochio's pizza. My DD loved Scoops and I thought it was great to have too. The whole and sliced fresh fruit were a really nice touch. We used the 24 drink station alot for ice water, coffee, tea and big Ziplocks of ice for our soft-sided cooler.
All this writing about food is making me hungry...time for lunch...more later.
