Yachtsman Steakhouse vs. Le Cellier vs. Shula's Steakhouse

Hi, everyone!

I've never been to Yachtsman's Steakhouse but have eaten in the other two. I don't think you need to guess which is my favorite, but I also enjoyed my meal in Shula's on December 4, 2005.

I stayed in the Wilderness Lodge on that trip, and had a 6:30 pm reservation at the former Baltimore Colt and Miami Dolphin head coach's namesake restaurant, which I got through Disney Dining. I had resolved to tackle the 48-ounce porterhouse on that Sunday.

I ate breakfast that day at Roaring Forks but except for an occasional bottle of water, I ate nothing else. After a leisurely day in Magic Kingdom I went back to Room 1132 to rest. I left at 4:30 pm but in hindsight should have left at 4:00 pm as it was an MVMCP night. I took a boat to MK and then waited a long time at the bus depot for a Swan/Dolphin-bound bus. It finally came, and I got on.

I was fifteen minutes late for the reservation but the woman at the podium said it was OK. I was seated at 6:50 near the back of the restaurant. Shula's, named after legendary coach Don Shula, is a tribute to the 1972-73 Miami Dolphins who posted the only perfect (17-0) season in NFL history. The significance was not lost on me that the Orlando member of the chain is located in a building known as the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, nor that the last four digits of my reservation number were 7372. These were good omens.

I was dressed in a baby-blue dress shirt, navy slacks, and sneakers, and thought I was slumming it. Dark wood paneling, subdued lighting and dark drapery gave this place the air of a "gentleman's club" without the strippers. In a tradition that's a bit over the top, a waiter brought out a football on a kicking tee, the football having printed on it the meat entrees without the prices. The waiter also described specials of the day and provided a more conventional menu with prices. This is obviously a place where the prevailing attitude seems to be, "If you need to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it."

I ordered the lobster bisque soup, the twice-baked potato, the 48-oz porterhouse and a bottle of Darjeeling tea to wash it all down, all a la carte. For any who don't know, a porterhouse, generally the largest and most expensive steak on the menu, consists of a filet mignon and a ribeye on a T-bone.

I ate the lobster bisque, which was very good; and sipped at my tea while awaiting my steak. While not as big as the Big Texan, a 72-oz steak served in a restaurant in Amarillo, TX and featured in an episode of Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food", Shula's famous signature item was very thick and came on a large plate bearing the words, "Shula's Steakhouse. Still Undefeated".

It was an excellent steak, very juicy, tender and delicious. I consumed it slowly and after 35 minutes was gnawing at the bone. I had room for only two bites of the potato. When the waiter came by, I asked him, "Is this considered finished?" He replied, "Yes. Congratulations". He then presented me with the check. The steak itself was $75.00 ($1.56 an ounce). The other items brought the total food bill, with tax, to $102.09. I added a 15% tip of $15.32 to charge the most expensive dinner (for one person) that I've ever had. It was worth every penny.

After being given a photo signed by Don Shula of him being carried on the shoulders of his players after registering his 300th win, which came at the Vet in Philly against the Eagles; and surprised that I could stand up after consuming such a large steak, I followed the waiter to a back room where a plaque with my name (James Townsend) is hung.

I then left the restaurant under my own power, took a Friendship Boat to Epcot, walked through Epcot to the bus depot, and caught a bus to Wilderness Lodge, all the while thinking, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!"

Jim

One very obvious difference between Yachtsman and Le Cellier is that it's REALLY hard to get an ADR at Le Cellier, while Yachtsman is one of the easier ones.

I think that's why Le Cellier is always so busy. They should really make it "two meals" in order to make it possible to get a table there (and to make more money.) Of course they're Canadians, so they probably are too nice to do it.

Wow, Jim! Not at all sure I could have accomplished that (though I'm thinking of giving it a try...yes indeedy...!)

And thanks for the insight on Shula's. I guess I've never been a big fan of eating in former sports stars' restaurants; I always figure--they don't know food, they know sports: why would their restaurant be any good?

As long as it's a good steak, I'm there! But I do like that both Yachtsman and Le Cellier now have mushroom risotto -- mmmmm!

We have done both LeCellier and Shula's on quite a few occasions and love them both very much, with the slight edge going to Shula's, both for the Quality and the ease of ADR's. We have never made it into the Yachtsman despite having tried twice. Both times we showed up without ADR's at a quiet time, (before 5 pm) and both times we were told that there was no available tables. This was even though we could only see two parties seated. POSSIBLY in their defense I was dressed in t-shirts and not even Disney ones so maybe they did not want Riff-Raff like me in their establishment !!
I should also say that the t-shirts were NOT questionable in any way, shape, or form, although with me wearing them they could be considered questionable in shape They were some of my vast collection of drag racing shirts.. just very colorful.

I seriously doubt your riff-raff status kept you out of Yachtsman, vette! I've seen some very questionable outfits in there!

Most likely, you had arrived just before a big dinner rush.

I'd like to hear how you like it if you're ever able to try the restaurant!

How many days 'til you leave?

Bali 10 days 7 hrs. 32mins. and 47 secs. but who's counting.

Me! 17 days 15 minutes till we leave and 18 days and 15 hrs (give or take ) till we get there!

mrhub, we will still be there till the 31st of Jan. so when you get there wear those big white Mickey hands so that when we see you we can say HI !!

The whole board's gonna be in WDW!! I can't wait for the reports

Sounds good VL! Maybe we could meet up and throw back a cold one, although mine would probably be a Manhattan! At least get a photo together for the boards!

Normally it takes exactly 24 hours?

No Admin, its only about a 16 hour drive from here, We usually leave on a Saturday morning , drive till about 8pm, get a hotel and head out first thing Sunday morning and get into WDW anywhere from 1 to 3 in the afternoon. This time we are leaving a day early so we can have a pretty full day in the parks on Sunday. Hoping to get in to WDW by 10am. If the rooms are not ready we'll just leave the bags in the trunk and head in.

Ah, do you try to arrive around that time so the rooms will be ready?

No thats just time we usually come rolling in on Sunday. If we could get there sooner, you can bet we would be there to get a full day in the parks. We have never showed up and a room not be ready.

We usually fly in on the earliest flight, check in, then leave the bags with bell services and head off to the parks!

It'd be great if you guys could get a photo for the boards! Would love to see it. If that's not possible, take a photo of yourself and we'll photoshop you into the same pic