If you had to pick one Table Service (TS) restaurant out of these... - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
If you had to pick one Table Service (TS) restaurant out of these...
*** OK, can someone please fix my typo in my title (again).... should say "one" not "on"! Thanks!!
OK, so, hubby and I have decided that we are going to pay OOP for one of our meals and do the "Dine with an animal expert" lunch at Sanaa. Doing this opens up another TS credit we need to fill (if only all of our problems were this good!)
So, these are 3 choices we are considering...
Cape May Café (the seafood dinner buffet)
Olivia's Cafe
50's Prime Time Café
Which of these would YOU pick? Why do you like it? Or if you don't, why didn't you like it? Or do you have another favorite not already on our list? We are trying to stay away from ADR meals that are all hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, fried foods like fries, etc. And we are trying to go to different places/parks/resorts... for better dining experiences. Thanks for your input!
FYI, Our other ADRs will include...
California Grill - Dinner
1900 Park Fare - Dinner
'Ohana - Dinner
Coral Reef - Lunch or Dinner (haven't decided)
Big River Grille & Brew Works - Dinner
Sanaa - Lunch w/Animal Expert
Mama Melrose - Fantasmic Dinner Package
__________________
Robin
Last edited by Mom24Girls; 09-15-2013 at 03:38 PM..
Of the choices that you listed I only have only eaten at 50's Prime Time--fun family food (meatloaf & fried chicken). They serve good comfort food.
We really enjoy Mama Melrose at DHS--like the food, love the sangria! Also thought the meal at Kouzzina was tasty--food and service was good.
I'm sure someone will come along that can answer your questions about Olivia's and Cape May (have read great thing about Cape May).
What area do you want to dine in? That'll help to narrow down other restaurant choices.
What area do you want to dine in? That'll help to narrow down other restaurant choices.
We are totally open to location! This is a relaxing trip that we will be doing what we want when we want. Enjoy spending time as a couple celebrating our anniversary. If we miss something... oh well, we'll catch it next time... that is the basic attitude we are going into this trip with.
We enjoyed the wave at the contemporary and tutto italia in Epcot. I have been to any of your choice except for 50s, but I don't really remember it, it was a long time ago
PassPorter Guide Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chapel Hill, NC USA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 36,592
Post Thanks / Like
I haven't tried Olivia's yet, but recently looked at the menu and thought it looked good. I did not like Cape May dinner at all. 50s Prime Time can be a fun meal and quite different from your other choices, so maybe it?
But you only have one meal in Epcot, I'd look closer to choices there. Teppan Edo or Beirgarten maybe?
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
...I've never had anything but good food and good times when we've dined there. I also like the theming ...a lot. It really makes you feel as if you've stepped into the 50's ...at least the 50's that we've all seen portrayed on TV.
...our very best dinner there ..was one that was later in the evening ...maybe 45 minutes before the park closed. The restaurant wasn't crowded ...the server gave us his undivided attention ...actually sat down with us a few times ....and was a barrel of fun.
....they also make a fabulous Bloody Mary ....which I order while waiting to be seated.
We enjoyed the wave at the contemporary and tutto italia in Epcot. I have been to any of your choice except for 50s, but I don't really remember it, it was a long time ago
We looked at the Wave... the menu did look good, but we are doing California Grill at the Contemporary already, but it's not totally out of the question. And Tutta Italia is Italian (ok I know that's obvious ) and with doing Mama Melrose, we were looking at something a little different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HiddenMickey
I haven't tried Olivia's yet, but recently looked at the menu and thought it looked good. I did not like Cape May dinner at all. 50s Prime Time can be a fun meal and quite different from your other choices, so maybe it?
But you only have one meal in Epcot, I'd look closer to choices there. Teppan Edo or Beirgarten maybe?
Oh you got hubby's attention with Beirgarten! LOL We actually had that on our original list for ADRs and forgot about it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rella
We love Olivia's. It's a must do each trip to get the Prime Rib..............soooooo good.
I am not a big Prime Rib fan, but hubby totally is! And the whole menu looked good! Oh, decisions, decisions!
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyDad
....I'd go with '50's Prime Time" .
...I've never had anything but good food and good times when we've dined there. I also like the theming ...a lot. It really makes you feel as if you've stepped into the 50's ...at least the 50's that we've all seen portrayed on TV.
...our very best dinner there ..was one that was later in the evening ...maybe 45 minutes before the park closed. The restaurant wasn't crowded ...the server gave us his undivided attention ...actually sat down with us a few times ....and was a barrel of fun.
....they also make a fabulous Bloody Mary ....which I order while waiting to be seated.
Hmm... making a great case for 50's Prime Time Café!! Taking it all into consideration!
Thank you all for your input... keep it coming! We have until early November to make up our minds!
Oh you got hubby's attention with Beirgarten! LOL We actually had that on our original list for ADRs and forgot about it!
I'd also suggest Biergarten! It's one of our favorites (probably DH's #1 favorite). Out of your original 3 choices, the only one I've been to is 50's PTC, and it's the only restaurant I've been to at WDW that I am in no hurry to get back to. We had poor (almost non-existent) service and the food left a lot to be desired as well. The meatloaf might as well come from a school cafeteria and the veggies were mushy and tasteless. I LOVE meatloaf, so I was really looking forward to this restaurant and it was a total letdown for us. I know others have had great experiences here, so I hope we were just there on a really, really off day, but with so many other places to eat that I know are wonderful, I just can't bring myself to be interested in going back to 50s.
__________________
MNSSHP 2015: DH (Bane), Me (Batgirl), Genie, and our friends
I enjoyed my meal at Olivia's, but I'm sad to say I didn't find it to be a very good value for the money spent. :
The crabcakes I so enjoyed on my first stay there are noticeably smaller and the portions are just not worth the cost. My vote for the other two would be 50's Prime Time where you can enjoy the pot roast.
I'd also suggest Biergarten! It's one of our favorites (probably DH's #1 favorite). Out of your original 3 choices, the only one I've been to is 50's PTC, and it's the only restaurant I've been to at WDW that I am in no hurry to get back to. We had poor (almost non-existent) service and the food left a lot to be desired as well. The meatloaf might as well come from a school cafeteria and the veggies were mushy and tasteless. I LOVE meatloaf, so I was really looking forward to this restaurant and it was a total letdown for us. I know others have had great experiences here, so I hope we were just there on a really, really off day, but with so many other places to eat that I know are wonderful, I just can't bring myself to be interested in going back to 50s.
Hmm... another vote for Biergarten! I looked at the menu again, and it DOES look good! I think this will have to go back on the list for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by WDWJAMBA
I enjoyed my meal at Olivia's, but I'm sad to say I didn't find it to be a very good value for the money spent. :
The crabcakes I so enjoyed on my first stay there are noticeably smaller and the portions are just not worth the cost. My vote for the other two would be 50's Prime Time where you can enjoy the pot roast.
PS- Fixed your title, Robin!
Thank you for fixing my title! We will be using a TS for this meal, so it won't be an OOP expense. However, I am hearing what you are saying. Smaller portions = hungry hubby... we don't want that!
I am in the minority but I can not stand 50s Prime Time - I've gone several times over the last few years (always giving it another shot because it's so unique!) but it's been TERRIBLE the last few times. Bad service, long waits, bad food. I would not go back.
The Biergarten is quite delicious and entertaining though! And I've heard good things about the Cape May Clam Bake
I've been to 50's Prime Time for lunch & enjoyed it. We did not enjoy Cape May Cafe Clambake. The breakfast wasn't bad, but dinner was very disappointing. Not a place I'd rush back to... Good Luck deciding!
__________________
First trip DW--Nov. 1975; Senior Class Trip DW--Oct. 1979; First trip w/kids--Oct. 1995; Halloween at DW--Oct. 2002; Spring Break at DW--April 2004; Christmas/Pop Warner Nationals-POR--Dec. 2005;Cruisin'--April 2008; Mom/Son trip-POP--March 2010;Taggin' along w/DD on DH's conference-BWI--Oct. 2011; 50th birthday with the Gartner Geeks--Adults only!--BWI--Oct. 2012; The Trip That Almost Wasn't--BWI--Oct. 2013; We climbed The Summit (National Cheer Competition)--ASMovies--May 2014
We've eaten breakfast at Cape May, but not dinner, so I can't help you with that. Of the other 2, I'd go with 50's Prime Time. Food was good, service was fun. Olivia's was good, but not impressive, and it took soooo long to get there with Disney transportation. Of course, I didn't get the prime rib that night; maybe that would change my vote! However, with the other suggestions, Biergarten is a good choice too!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
About This Page: 
If you had to pick one Table Service (TS) restaurant out of these...
) 
We are trying to stay away from ADR meals that are all hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, fried foods like fries, etc. And we are trying to go to different places/parks/resorts... for better dining experiences. 
Like
Thank
Pixie Dust
I know others have had great experiences here, so I hope we were just there on a really, really off day, but with so many other places to eat that I know are wonderful, I just can't bring myself to be interested in going back to 50s.
: 
We will be using a TS for this meal, so it won't be an OOP expense. However, I am hearing what you are saying. 
Hybrid Mode
