Bucket List NYE at WDW with Platinum Plan - new 2/28 bonus post, wrap up, and COMPLETE

[pepperandchips]

Ahh Sanaa sounds so nice. I was thinking lunch so that we could hopefully see the animals a bit better. That bread service just sounds so amazing. I had originally been thinking Yak and Yeti for our Ak day but I'm trading it for Sanaa

Oh you will not be disappointed by either, but the animal viewing at Sanaa edges out Y&Y just by a hair for me. Great, now I want both. The pitfalls of posting during lunch hour...

I haven't been to a ton of restaurants because sadly I haven't been to Disney very much. I live pretty far away in freezing cold Michigan (why do I live here and not near Disney??)

What's so funny is that we always see SO MANY Michigan license plates when we are in Florida. I guess everyone is escaping the cold!

California grill just looks amazing!! Amazing food on top of the contemporary WITH fireworks viewing?? How can you beat it?

I'm not sure you can, but rest assured I will try to sample restaurants until I determine one way or the other I heard Len Testa on a podcast this week saying that he thought California Grill is overrated. I so don't agree. A bit overpriced, perhaps, but everything at Disney is crazy expensive, so I'd rather overpay for good food.

My hubby doesn't want to travel to resorts TOO much though. He likes to enjoy the parks since we only get to go once a year.

I totally get that. It can be a tough balance deciding how much travel time it's really worth to visit some of the out-of-the-way restaurants. You may not be able to tell from my review yet, but we did almost nothing besides tours and eating on this trip... but that was intentional since the parks were so crowded. Trying to enjoy the attractions and eat at destination restaurants is a balancing act!

 

[pepperandchips]

oh yeah I definitely relied on the 2 credits per signature thing to not die of overconsumption of restaurant food, lol. I'm guessing you did not do platinum for more than a very short stretch though, did I miss which part of your split stay it was attached to?

We did a 3 night package at the Wilderness Lodge 12/29-1/1 which had the dining plan (and other platinum stuff) included and then added the Universal and DVC stays at the beginning and end. It was the only way the dining plan could conceivably work for us - stretch it out over as looooong as possible!

Two things we don't talk about: how much I spend on my (mostly disney) purses and how much I spend on Disney.

LOL agreed!

So it's mimicking the more expensive tequilas in a way that tastes, to me, kind of skunky.

Ah, this makes sense. Sort of like crappy wine having additives.

More expensive tequila does not have this effect.

Also makes sense just like more expensive wine!

My favorite mixer reposado is Hornitos. Not just for the name.

Um. yes. I do buy tequila by the 1.5L bottle. Don't judge!

No judgment here! We buy bourbon in the big size for the same reason. It does take us a while to go through the whole thing, like you mentioned, but it doesn't make sense to buy the smaller ones more frequently!

My ratio is: 2 tequila : 1 orange liqueur : 1 freshly squeezed lime juice in a shaker with TONS of ice (make sure the booze is no cooler than room temperature, it NEEDS to mellow out with melted ice) and a squirt of two of light agave syrup - shake vigorously for a long time until it gets a little foamy. This is margarita perfection.

Copying to my email for future reference.... sounds perfect!!!

bf makes a mean carnitas, which is part of why I am so enamored with him in spite of the fact that we will never do V&A together!

Oh yes, he sounds like a keeper! I love carnitas!!!

 

[Lisa F]

Oh yes, he sounds like a keeper! I love carnitas!!!

carnitas and margaritas:

he is a keeper!

 

[Raeven]

Yum I can't wait to try the food at Territory Lounge! I'm excited to read the reviews for the Festival of the Arts too I'm really hoping they continue it for next year so I can go.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow! Your trip sounds incredible!! I can't wait to hear more!

 

[ShelbyWagon]

Your meal at Territory Lounge looks great! I may have to drag the hubby over there on our next trip for a meal. I've been wanting to explore Wilderness Lodge a bit so that's a good excuse. I can always bribe him with a good beverage

 

[Shelbizzles]

Oh you will not be disappointed by either, but the animal viewing at Sanaa edges out Y&Y just by a hair for me. Great, now I want both. The pitfalls of posting during lunch hour...

Ahh. It's so hard deciding. Good thing I have 8+ plus months to choose lol

What's so funny is that we always see SO MANY Michigan license plates when we are in Florida. I guess everyone is escaping the cold!

Tons of people live here in the spring/summer then go down to Florida for the cold months. Totally wish I could do that.
My husband and I seriously considering moving more south within the next 5 or so years. Living closer to Disney has absolutely nothing to do with our reasoning

I totally get that. It can be a tough balance deciding how much travel time it's really worth to visit some of the out-of-the-way restaurants. You may not be able to tell from my review yet, but we did almost nothing besides tours and eating on this trip... but that was intentional since the parks were so crowded. Trying to enjoy the attractions and eat at destination restaurants is a balancing act!

I think it's definitely worth some of our time this trip! I NEED to see the Polynesian this trip. I'm in love with it and I've never even had a chance to see it. (My dream stay, if you couldn't tell ) even if I don't get to eat there, I'm hoping for a visit to Trader Sams. And it's nice to have a little bit of travel time to get a break from the September heat.

 

[Lisa F]

12/28 Continued - Our first Disney Day!!!

We'd gotten our "room ready" text for the Villas at Wilderness Lodge (sorry, I am just not ready to make the terminology switch to Boulder Ridge - too soon!) around 11:20 but we were in Universal enjoying a last few attractions. We'd bandied about the idea of going to the Hard Rock Hotel pool and getting lunch at Citywalk but, to my surprise, R was ready to get over to Disney as much as I was.

Around 12:50 pm we came upon this glorious sight:

We've stayed at the Wilderness Lodge before so we just went ahead and self parked and lugged our stuff into the main lobby before traipsing over to the villas building.

I basked in the glow of the tree for a few minutes before we headed off to find our room, which was #5521, right off the elevator and overlooking the lake. It was a great location and had this lovely (?) view:

Being a disney dork, I loved seeing the progress of the new villas pool and grill out there. Anyway, the only complaint at all I had about our room there was that I had forgotten to request a non-enclosed balcony so we were in a dormer-type room so if you sat down on the balcony you couldn't see out. Not really a big deal since we were only there one night, otherwise I loved this room which had a huge tall ceiling and was very convenient. We got some free pins in the room thanking us for our patience during the construction, which wasn't really an impact on our stay at all to speak of so that was fine.

We changed clothes and went down to the pool, planning some relaxation time in the lovely Orlando weather since it was not pool climate at home this time of year.

I got a fruity drink, which is totally required poolside no matter what you normally drink... "Banana Cabana - Cruzan mango rum, Cruzan coconut rum, creme de banana, with orange and pineapple juice and a float of grenadine" (I asked for the grenadine omitted which they obliged)

R had a beer, I think a Kona Longboard. We had a burger and chicken nuggets from Roaring Forks and a second round of drinks at some point but I didn't take pictures of these items, as my drink looked like a rum and coke and you all know what beer, nuggets, and burgers look like. After the pool, R took a nap while I took a nice hot bath and we relaxed in the room for a bit.

At 7:00 we made some room dranks and decided to milk the end of the Christmas holidays by enjoying our cocktails in the lobby on the second floor in the sitting area near the fireplace, where we had a lovely vantage point of the decor .

Around 8:00, we headed to the Territory Lounge and had no problem finding an open table. I love this lounge - the theming is immersive and calming, the service is always fabulous, and their offerings are the perfect mix of upscale and bar food, so you can suit all palates. Forgive the image quality here, I had to do some editing because the lighting in the lounge is so yellow, so if any of the food is unnatural color, that is why.

I started with the pinot noir flight ($22) which included Sokol Blossner, Solena, and Willamette Valley Vineyards pinot noir pours. R had a bourbon and soda which you can see in the background ($10, probably maker's mark but I don't remember). I liked the choices in the flight and ended up having a second full size glass of one of them (the Solena?) which I can't confirm because upon my review of the receipt we were not charged for the glass of wine. It had gotten a little more hectic so I guess he just didn't ring it in (no complaints from me!)

Next up, we had what we'd come specifically to Territory Lounge to try:

The House Bread with Lardo Butter and Sea Salt $6.00. This had been recommended to us on our last visit and it was good, but not as mind blowing as I'd been led to believe. The lardo butter tastes of whipped pork fat (which it is) and it was delicious, but the sea salt butter is always a hit for me so we enjoyed both on the nice, crusty brown bread. R really really liked the lardo butter so I am glad we tried it.

Next up was the "Land Greens Salad - heirloom apples, seed granola, Banyuls vinegar $13" which was nice and light and fresh. Despite the picture this was a large salad and we struggled to finish it all. R was delighted that the greens came from Epcot and I thought that was pretty cool too.

The signature soup! Oh gosh, this was another reason I'd wanted to have dinner at the Territory Lounge and unlike the Lardo Butter, I cannot recommend this highly enough. I have no idea what they put in the "Smoked Portobello Bisque - crispy oyster mushrooms, fines herbes $12" but it tastes so rich and hearty without tasting too much of just cream. I think we just about licked the bowl clean. $12 is a lot for soup but it's totally justified in this case. It was very satisfying and I am sure I will make a point to have this again. It's perfectly suited for the ambiance of the lounge and was a great winter treat.

Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, but we'd loved the flatbread in the past so we had to have it again:

"Caprese Flatbread - heirloom tomatoes, garlic, ricotta, EVOO, sea salt $13" and if memory serves, the ricotta is house made and absolutely decadent. The tomatoes are so fresh and this is just a super tasty dish. Everything on the flatbread is fresh tasting and somehow manages to feel light, despite basically being a pizza. I really enjoyed this again. The leftovers got eaten later in the trip...

We finished the meal with "Artist Point Cobbler - seasonal berries, black raspberry ice cream $13" which R really really enjoyed and I thought was okay. I wasn't craving dessert anyway, but cobbler is not my thing - I remember one of the seasonal berries was gooseberries, which was pretty neat. You can see one there as a garnish with the husk sticking off of it in the back.

Our dining plan had not yet started and we didn't have an active Tables in Wonderland card yet, since our package with tickets to be upgraded started the next morning. Total out of pocket for this meal with no discount was $105.44, which included my wine flight and R's two bourbons. I think this was pretty fair considering all the food we had. We enjoyed our meal as usual and had great service. Territory Lounge, winning as always!

After dinner, we went back to our room and within a few minutes I was shocked to hear the lilting strains of the Electrical Water Pageant! I did not even think about it being part of the entertainment on Bay Lake. We had a great view from our balcony and I was so overjoyed. I might have cried a little.

Up next: we kick off the PLATINUM PLAN with the Yuletide Fantasy tour and lunch at Le Cellier!

Off topic PSA: I uploaded a bunch of pictures from the Epcot Festival of the Arts with some quick reviews over on the main Dining Reviews board so check it out if you're interested!

the territory lounge is on my short list, if I ever do an adult only trip. We never made it to WL on our trip I want that soup!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

I got a fruity drink, which is totally required poolside no matter what you normally drink

I believe this is actually state law in Florida.

OK, can I ask a dumb question? How lounge-y is the Territory Lounge? I would *so* love to try that Portobello bisque but I assume it wouldn't be appropriate to bring my kiddo in there with me. We have never hit up any of the resort lounges so I just wasn't sure what the vibe is like in them. I realize WDW is family friendly but I also don't appreciate people bringing their kids to places that really are intended for adults, and I want to respect other peoples' kid-free time while they're on vacation! Anyway, just thought I'd ask. I suppose I could sneak down for a bowl of soup after he's asleep one night. Child abandonment? Bring my kid to a bar? Just how good is this soup?

 

[pepperandchips]

I believe this is actually state law in Florida.

OK, can I ask a dumb question? How lounge-y is the Territory Lounge? I would *so* love to try that Portobello bisque but I assume it wouldn't be appropriate to bring my kiddo in there with me. We have never hit up any of the resort lounges so I just wasn't sure what the vibe is like in them. I realize WDW is family friendly but I also don't appreciate people bringing their kids to places that really are intended for adults, and I want to respect other peoples' kid-free time while they're on vacation! Anyway, just thought I'd ask. I suppose I could sneak down for a bowl of soup after he's asleep one night. Child abandonment? Bring my kid to a bar? Just how good is this soup?

Nah, friend, your child will be totally welcome here! I mean... within reason, obviously, I would not hang out with a kid and no food after like 10:30. In fact I have seen families pull together a couple of tables and enjoy a whole meal together and no one casts a second glance. I think if you are wanting to try the soup and/or any of the other food from Artist Point and you want the more casual atmosphere Territory Lounge is a great choice. There is a cool map on the ceiling and some neat artifact type things on the walls, tvs (I have seen Mickey short cartoons and sports televised at different points there) and your son would feel plenty comfortable. You shouldn't worry about it being a bar - it's Disney after all! I have dined in several of the lounges and have seen well behaved children in all of them. They've never bothered us (and we are kidless). I'd be more worried about having to share that soup LOL

The only time I have seen badly behaved adults in Disney lounges was during conventions at the resorts which are attached to convention centers (I am thinking mainly of the Yacht Club I guess) but you are in the clear with WL. I saw your post in the WL thread - good call on the courtyard view! We had a courtyard view the first time I stayed there and I fell victim to the dormer balcony then, too. But my awesome castle view is coming up shortly so the lodge has redeemed itself! Y'all are going to love WL I think

 

[ariane37]

Around 8:00, we headed to the Territory Lounge and had no problem finding an open table. I love this lounge - the theming is immersive and calming, the service is always fabulous, and their offerings are the perfect mix of upscale and bar food, so you can suit all palates

Oh yeah Cannot WAIT to be back there in May!

The signature soup!

Mainly for this reason! I've dreamt about that since having it in August and I'm not afraid to admit it.

That flatbread looks and sounds great, too! Problem is the soup is so filling but there is absolutely no way I'm not getting it. Hopefully Steve will be willing to order the flatbread to share or I'll just have to consume most of it myself!

OK, can I ask a dumb question? How lounge-y is the Territory Lounge? I would *so* love to try that Portobello bisque but I assume it wouldn't be appropriate to bring my kiddo in there with me. We have never hit up any of the resort lounges so I just wasn't sure what the vibe is like in them. I realize WDW is family friendly but I also don't appreciate people bringing their kids to places that really are intended for adults, and I want to respect other peoples' kid-free time while they're on vacation!

Steve and I went to the lounge back in August, at first just for a drink but ended up ordering food and were sitting at a table. When we got there, a family with 3 kids were sitting at the bar all having drinks-I assume soda for the kids lol. After about 20 minutes, the 2 older kids (maybe between 9 and 12) left and then came back about 15 minutes later. Family was there for about an hour while we were but had been there first. Another family with a small child came in at one point, all dressed up obviously waiting for their reservation next door at Artist Point, and sat at a table for a bit with drinks. You'll be fine The night we were there, the majority of people coming in were waiting for Artist Point with a sprinkling of people ordering food like we were.

 

[fallonkendra]

I'm late to the party, but I'm here!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Nah, friend, your child will be totally welcome here! I mean... within reason, obviously, I would not hang out with a kid and no food after like 10:30. In fact I have seen families pull together a couple of tables and enjoy a whole meal together and no one casts a second glance. I think if you are wanting to try the soup and/or any of the other food from Artist Point and you want the more casual atmosphere Territory Lounge is a great choice. There is a cool map on the ceiling and some neat artifact type things on the walls, tvs (I have seen Mickey short cartoons and sports televised at different points there) and your son would feel plenty comfortable. You shouldn't worry about it being a bar - it's Disney after all! I have dined in several of the lounges and have seen well behaved children in all of them. They've never bothered us (and we are kidless). I'd be more worried about having to share that soup LOL

The only time I have seen badly behaved adults in Disney lounges was during conventions at the resorts which are attached to convention centers (I am thinking mainly of the Yacht Club I guess) but you are in the clear with WL. I saw your post in the WL thread - good call on the courtyard view! We had a courtyard view the first time I stayed there and I fell victim to the dormer balcony then, too. But my awesome castle view is coming up shortly so the lodge has redeemed itself! Y'all are going to love WL I think

Awesome, thank you SO much! I would be less inclined to bring the whole crew, but I think Sean would be content to play on his Kindle or Gameboy without his brothers to antagonize him. We would probably go early evening. Again, thank you for the reassurance! I am getting really excited to stay at WL!!!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

Steve and I went to the lounge back in August, at first just for a drink but ended up ordering food and were sitting at a table. When we got there, a family with 3 kids were sitting at the bar all having drinks-I assume soda for the kids lol. After about 20 minutes, the 2 older kids (maybe between 9 and 12) left and then came back about 15 minutes later. Family was there for about an hour while we were but had been there first. Another family with a small child came in at one point, all dressed up obviously waiting for their reservation next door at Artist Point, and sat at a table for a bit with drinks. You'll be fine The night we were there, the majority of people coming in were waiting for Artist Point with a sprinkling of people ordering food like we were.

Awesome! I really appreciate the reassurance from both you and @pepperandchips. I don't mean to be a worrywart about it, but I also don't want to be *that mom* who brings her kid to the bar and everyone else is rolling their eyes behind their menus, KWIM? Hopefully he and I will be able to check it out

 

[mkate9]

Following along! Really looking forward to hearing about Victoria & Albert's!

 

[spartankid34]

Looking forward to this report!

 

[pepperandchips]

Yum I can't wait to try the food at Territory Lounge! I'm excited to read the reviews for the Festival of the Arts too I'm really hoping they continue it for next year so I can go.

Oh yes, I really hope they continue it! I thought it was definitely a good start and in addition to the great food, I hope there is more awesome art next year! It reminded me a bit of the Walt Disney Family Museum in Epcot Festival format.

Wow! Your trip sounds incredible!! I can't wait to hear more!

Yes it was an absolute bucket list trip. I have never eaten so much good food in such a short time! And I am so glad we got to do a bunch of the tours I'd wanted to experience. I think I created a monster in myself though, now I want to do ALL the tours!!!

Your meal at Territory Lounge looks great! I may have to drag the hubby over there on our next trip for a meal. I've been wanting to explore Wilderness Lodge a bit so that's a good excuse. I can always bribe him with a good beverage

There is no better place to drag your hubby, grab a beverage, and enjoy the rocking chairs, fireplaces, and beautiful (even if artificial) stream and waterfalls. WL is tied with AKL as my favorite resort to just relax in... which is awesome, because you don't even need to be staying there to do so! I'm so looking forward to all of the new offerings opening up and seeing a return of the recreation and waterline areas (I won't say beach...)

I think it's definitely worth some of our time this trip! I NEED to see the Polynesian this trip. I'm in love with it and I've never even had a chance to see it. (My dream stay, if you couldn't tell ) even if I don't get to eat there, I'm hoping for a visit to Trader Sams. And it's nice to have a little bit of travel time to get a break from the September heat.

Oh girl you are speaking my language! The next time you and hubby visit WDW look into seeing if you can rent DVC points for a Poly studio. Yes, it would still be expensive, but not as expensive to rent DVC points as to book outright with Disney. And as with WL and AKL, the Poly is a great resort to visit and just chill out in. Trader Sam's is really fun but my heart belongs to the Tambu Lounge - trust me that everyone needs to experience a Lapu Lapu at least once! We like to do the monorail crawl and Tambu is my favorite stop because we can get Backscratchers (the drink) and the amazing 'Ohana sticky wings, right there in the lounge!

the territory lounge is on my short list, if I ever do an adult only trip. We never made it to WL on our trip I want that soup!

Even if it's not an adult only trip... bribe the kiddo with a milkshake or a butter steak!

Mainly for this reason! I've dreamt about that since having it in August and I'm not afraid to admit it.

That flatbread looks and sounds great, too! Problem is the soup is so filling but there is absolutely no way I'm not getting it. Hopefully Steve will be willing to order the flatbread to share or I'll just have to consume most of it myself!

I know, I have gone over to the soup dark side now as well. I think it's better than the flatbread but I do like both! And don't think I've forgotten that burger... it's on the to-do list as well!

I'm late to the party, but I'm here!

I was so lonely without you while you were off busy getting engaged and whatever!!!!

I am getting really excited to stay at WL!!!

As you should be!!!

everyone else is rolling their eyes behind their menus, KWIM?

Well I would probably be that eye-roller if it was anywhere but Disney. Totally understand your apprehension but I think you are totally in the clear.

Following along! Really looking forward to hearing about Victoria & Albert's!

Welcome, lady! I see that we are following many of the same other reports as well and I am so glad to have you here! V&A is coming up soon!!! I had to get it in early in the trip to make sure we'd be hungry... LOL

Looking forward to this report!

Can I go back and do it all over again? No?! Okay fine then I am looking forward to reliving it by WRITING the report! So glad to have you along.

 

[pepperandchips]

December 29th: A Trip Around the World, Around the World Showcase (sort of), and Around the Walt Disney World!

The morning of December 29th was an early one for us, as we would be switching rooms yet again. We definitely took advantage of the full size coffee pot this morning (my favorite feature in the villas studios) but I don't think we ate much for breakfast. Maybe a couple pieces of the leftover flatbread. Yum! After quickly packing up and calling bell services to grab our bags, we went downstairs and checked out of the villas and into our package reservation at the lodge so that we could begin using our plan entitlements. Let the platinum plan begin, baby!

The front desk staff at WL is very helpful and efficient, and today's experience was no different. Despite having read repeated warnings to ask the front desk CM to get the package components out of the safe, I totally forgot this at check in and our CM that checked us in ended up calling me... repeatedly... to let me know to come back to get them. Alas, it would have to wait as we were on our way to Epcot!!!

Weary after previous experiences when we were in a rush, I made sure we were out to the bus stop extra early. Of course, due to Murphy's law, the Epcot bus came right away. We made it to our tour meeting spot well ahead of the scheduled meeting time for the Yuletide Fantasy tour. Being early allowed us to upgrade our tickets to annual passes and I went ahead and sprung for the Tables in Wonderland card again.

The tours themselves are obviously not dining, but the tours we experienced were included in the price of our platinum package so I am including the cost here. This one would have been $210.87 for two adults, and unfortunately I do not recommend this tour.

My notes regarding Yuletide Fantasy say "bit of a bust" and as someone who is ordinarily fascinated by any bit of Disney trivia or history, it's pathetic that during most of the tour I was... bored. There, I said it, this tour was boring. I was so looking forward to seeing a bit of the magic that goes into the resort decor, and the holiday warehouse of decorations really was fascinating and amazing to behold. Aside from that, we spent way too long in Epcot listening to our guide tell us some of the stories behind different types of Christmas ornaments, the history of Christmas carols, and largely fight with his microphone equipment which wasn't working properly. Oh, and scraping bird poo off of a box of Christmas ornaments he was using as a prop for discussion when he sat it down on one of those high top tables that had been "ornamented" in and of itself by the Florida wildlife...

We spent about 5 minutes in Magic Kingdom, 4 of which were spent standing on East Center Street listening to the tale of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the other 1 minute we briefly looked at the garland on the hat shop on Main Street. Oh, and our guide took this picture of us in which I forgot to hold up the sign.

Fortunately, I'd managed to stow some Famous Amos in my bag for consumption on the bus between stops as our final destination where we were given a snack was the Territory Lounge where we were served some cider that was... spicy.

(The word I wanted to use was disgusting but that's not very descriptive, is it?) I think it had too many cloves or something as it had a very strong licorice taste (and I LIKE licorice so I am not sure how this went wrong). You can't really tell but the cider was served in shot-glass sized mason jars. No complaints here since I didn't even drink what was served. The tour guide then spent at least 30 minutes talking about pine cones and I think R would have killed me if I weren't so upset already at having wasted our morning on this tour. Side note: we got these nice rice krispie mickey treats.

I'm saving mine for a rainy day so it's still in my kitchen cabinet.

Once the tour concluded, we were looking forward to our first dining reservation, but we had about 30-45 minutes before that time, so we went in Starbucks to use our first snack credits (ever!!) and got two cold brew coffees ($4.29 each) and brought our iced coffees up to visit the DVC lounge.

I vaguely remember ImageWorks from my childhood - mainly the stepping tones and the rainbow corridor, so it was a really cool experience getting to enjoy the former home of this memory. We grabbed sparkling waters from the freestyle machine and took gummy bears and baked chips from the snack cart. In no time at all, it was our reservation time and we needed to depart.

We were dining at Le Cellier! Oddly enough, the hostess felt the need to warn us upon checking in that the restaurant required two dining credits. (Though this is not true on the platinum plan) I guess they have a problem with people claiming they didn't know when the bill comes. Anyway, we got seated shortly and we started off with drinks of course, because it's vacation!

R chose a Unibroue draft (and now I can't remember which one and the receipt is definitely not correct on this one). We like the Unibroue beer that Disney offers at the Canada beer cart (usually La Fin Du Monde, but we have also had Ephemere) and it was nice for him to try something different. $9.25

I started with a Chappelet Chardonnay as I had been on a Chardonnay kick after our Thanksgiving trip to wine country where I discovered there are actually Chardonnays I enjoy. ($16) This was a decent chard and went well with the pretzel bread! Which we tried not to eat too much of in anticipation of our first three course meal on the dining plan. Sorry about the photo quality, I think I was using my phone and the lighting is very dim in Le Cellier.

For appetizers, we shared the "Heirloom Tomatoes - Canadian heirloom tomatoes, bibb lettuce, crispy pork belly, candied walnut, smokey blue $14" and the "Assortment of Artisanal Cheese - with Chef's Selection of accompaniments $15"

The cheeses were good, if fairly standard, and I liked the honeycomb and other accompaniments. It's hard for me to dislike cheese and this was a nice selection. The salad, on the other hand, was AWESOME! I love a nice wedge salad and this had the basic elements of a wedge, albeit chopped and served in a way more conducive to eating. The tomatoes were lovely and this was a good, light choice. Which was a good thing because it was only lunch and we had more food coming...

There was absolutely no way I was coming to Le Cellier for the first time, on a dining plan, and not getting "Le Cellier Filet Mignon - AAA Canadian Beef Tenderloin, mushroom risotto, asparagus-tomato relish, truffle-butter sauce $54"

This was so good I feel obliged to acquire a better lit photo:

Thanks, AllEars!

Anyway, this was heavenly, cooked perfectly medium rare, with delicious accompaniments. Very very good steak.

I am sorry that I cannot find a better picture to purloin of the delicious "Venison Osso Bucco -
Caramelized Onion Orzo, Braised Vegetables, Preserved Citrus, Red Wine Demi $45". Most of the time I am decided with my entree upon reading the words "osso bucco", as it is one of my all-time favorite dishes. I've never had a venison version before, but I grew up eating venison way more often than beef so this was not a strange decision for me. (See above history about my redneck family related to the HRH club lounge review ) Le Cellier got this just right - it had a great roasted flavor and the braised vegetables were also delicious. I was glad that R is a sharing person as it was fantastic to try two such different (and tasty) dishes.

For dessert, R selected the "Chocolate Whisky Trifle - malted milk panna cotta, caramel popcorn, whisky caramel sauce, buttered popcorn gelato $11" and the caramel sauce was poured on by our server tableside.

I chose the "Nanaimo Pie - chocolate hazelnut crust, coconut custard, cream anglaise $11". I have to say neither dessert was anything to write home about. We left a lot of the nanaimo pie, despite me being a coconut enthusiast. I didn't detect much coconut flavor (or any flavor at all really). R's dessert was better but still nothing I would order again. The popcorn gelato was at least interesting.

The dining plan paid $167.18 for our meal (we had a few drinks and the tip out of pocket, obviously) and our TIW card saved us $7.65 on drinks. We had a fabulous server and the first 2/3 of our meal was amazing so I can understand Le Cellier's popularity. I would love to get dressed up and come back to Le Cellier for date night and finish the evening watching Illuminations after dinner. Filing that idea away for next time...

After our lunch, we rode Soarin' with a fastpass (spoiler alert: this is the only attraction we ended up riding the entire trip at Disney). We were seated next to some folks who'd never ridden it before and that always makes my experience so much more enjoyable to share their fun in seeing things anew. I have finally stopped crying upon first sight of the Eiffel Tower scene so I consider this a success!

We never got our room text so we stopped by the desk at WL to find out where we'd be staying, and we also picked up the packet that they'd been so anxiously calling us about - it was our La Nouba vouchers. Our room was 5030 - perfectly what I'd requested, with a great view of Magic Kingdom in the distance.

Here's our view from another day, with clear blue skies:

Nothing like opening the curtains and seeing these landmarks!!!

We were also treated to another round of "thank you" pins (photo taken after we got home)

They are pretty cute and a nice gesture.

We rested for a while as we needed to dress nicely for our big dinner...

Up next: VICTORIA AND ALBERT'S!!!

Math in this post: 2 snack credits ($4.29 x 2) and 2 dining credits ($167.18), two tours ($210.87). Plan value so far: $386.63

 

[Vernie822]

Ugh, so sorry that tour was a bust!! You'd think it would be really informative and fun.

After our lunch, we rode Soarin' with a fastpass (spoiler alert: this is the only attraction we ended up riding the entire trip at Disney). We were seated next to some folks who'd never ridden it before and that always makes my experience so much more enjoyable to share their fun in seeing things anew. I have finally stopped crying upon first sight of the Eiffel Tower scene so I consider this a success!

Hahahahaha... I swear people look at me funny when I tell them I go to Disney and don't ride much but I'm there for the food, too. Love the new Soarin!!

I chose the "Nanaimo Pie - chocolate hazelnut crust, coconut custard, cream anglaise $11". I have to say neither dessert was anything to write home about. We left a lot of the nanaimo pie, despite me being a coconut enthusiast. I didn't detect much coconut flavor (or any flavor at all really). R's dessert was better but still nothing I would order again. The popcorn gelato was at least interesting.

Wow this looks crazy different from when I had it in April! I love me some coconut too so I'm always up for a coconut dessert. Mine was way more chocolatey and I really liked it. Sounds like you had a great meal!

 

[Lisa F]

December 29th: A Trip Around the World, Around the World Showcase (sort of), and Around the Walt Disney World!

The morning of December 29th was an early one for us, as we would be switching rooms yet again. We definitely took advantage of the full size coffee pot this morning (my favorite feature in the villas studios) but I don't think we ate much for breakfast. Maybe a couple pieces of the leftover flatbread. Yum! After quickly packing up and calling bell services to grab our bags, we went downstairs and checked out of the villas and into our package reservation at the lodge so that we could begin using our plan entitlements. Let the platinum plan begin, baby!

The front desk staff at WL is very helpful and efficient, and today's experience was no different. Despite having read repeated warnings to ask the front desk CM to get the package components out of the safe, I totally forgot this at check in and our CM that checked us in ended up calling me... repeatedly... to let me know to come back to get them. Alas, it would have to wait as we were on our way to Epcot!!!

Weary after previous experiences when we were in a rush, I made sure we were out to the bus stop extra early. Of course, due to Murphy's law, the Epcot bus came right away. We made it to our tour meeting spot well ahead of the scheduled meeting time for the Yuletide Fantasy tour. Being early allowed us to upgrade our tickets to annual passes and I went ahead and sprung for the Tables in Wonderland card again.

The tours themselves are obviously not dining, but the tours we experienced were included in the price of our platinum package so I am including the cost here. This one would have been $210.87 for two adults, and unfortunately I do not recommend this tour.

My notes regarding Yuletide Fantasy say "bit of a bust" and as someone who is ordinarily fascinated by any bit of Disney trivia or history, it's pathetic that during most of the tour I was... bored. There, I said it, this tour was boring. I was so looking forward to seeing a bit of the magic that goes into the resort decor, and the holiday warehouse of decorations really was fascinating and amazing to behold. Aside from that, we spent way too long in Epcot listening to our guide tell us some of the stories behind different types of Christmas ornaments, the history of Christmas carols, and largely fight with his microphone equipment which wasn't working properly. Oh, and scraping bird poo off of a box of Christmas ornaments he was using as a prop for discussion when he sat it down on one of those high top tables that had been "ornamented" in and of itself by the Florida wildlife...

We spent about 5 minutes in Magic Kingdom, 4 of which were spent standing on East Center Street listening to the tale of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the other 1 minute we briefly looked at the garland on the hat shop on Main Street. Oh, and our guide took this picture of us in which I forgot to hold up the sign.

Fortunately, I'd managed to stow some Famous Amos in my bag for consumption on the bus between stops as our final destination where we were given a snack was the Territory Lounge where we were served some cider that was... spicy.

(The word I wanted to use was disgusting but that's not very descriptive, is it?) I think it had too many cloves or something as it had a very strong licorice taste (and I LIKE licorice so I am not sure how this went wrong). You can't really tell but the cider was served in shot-glass sized mason jars. No complaints here since I didn't even drink what was served. The tour guide then spent at least 30 minutes talking about pine cones and I think R would have killed me if I weren't so upset already at having wasted our morning on this tour. Side note: we got these nice rice krispie mickey treats.

I'm saving mine for a rainy day so it's still in my kitchen cabinet.

Once the tour concluded, we were looking forward to our first dining reservation, but we had about 30-45 minutes before that time, so we went in Starbucks to use our first snack credits (ever!!) and got two cold brew coffees ($4.29 each) and brought our iced coffees up to visit the DVC lounge.

I vaguely remember ImageWorks from my childhood - mainly the stepping tones and the rainbow corridor, so it was a really cool experience getting to enjoy the former home of this memory. We grabbed sparkling waters from the freestyle machine and took gummy bears and baked chips from the snack cart. In no time at all, it was our reservation time and we needed to depart.

We were dining at Le Cellier! Oddly enough, the hostess felt the need to warn us upon checking in that the restaurant required two dining credits. (Though this is not true on the platinum plan) I guess they have a problem with people claiming they didn't know when the bill comes. Anyway, we got seated shortly and we started off with drinks of course, because it's vacation!

R chose a Unibroue draft (and now I can't remember which one and the receipt is definitely not correct on this one). We like the Unibroue beer that Disney offers at the Canada beer cart (usually La Fin Du Monde, but we have also had Ephemere) and it was nice for him to try something different. $9.25

I started with a Chappelet Chardonnay as I had been on a Chardonnay kick after our Thanksgiving trip to wine country where I discovered there are actually Chardonnays I enjoy. ($16) This was a decent chard and went well with the pretzel bread! Which we tried not to eat too much of in anticipation of our first three course meal on the dining plan. Sorry about the photo quality, I think I was using my phone and the lighting is very dim in Le Cellier.

For appetizers, we shared the "Heirloom Tomatoes - Canadian heirloom tomatoes, bibb lettuce, crispy pork belly, candied walnut, smokey blue $14" and the "Assortment of Artisanal Cheese - with Chef's Selection of accompaniments $15"

The cheeses were good, if fairly standard, and I liked the honeycomb and other accompaniments. It's hard for me to dislike cheese and this was a nice selection. The salad, on the other hand, was AWESOME! I love a nice wedge salad and this had the basic elements of a wedge, albeit chopped and served in a way more conducive to eating. The tomatoes were lovely and this was a good, light choice. Which was a good thing because it was only lunch and we had more food coming...

There was absolutely no way I was coming to Le Cellier for the first time, on a dining plan, and not getting "Le Cellier Filet Mignon - AAA Canadian Beef Tenderloin, mushroom risotto, asparagus-tomato relish, truffle-butter sauce $54"

This was so good I feel obliged to acquire a better lit photo:

Thanks, AllEars!

Anyway, this was heavenly, cooked perfectly medium rare, with delicious accompaniments. Very very good steak.

I am sorry that I cannot find a better picture to purloin of the delicious "Venison Osso Bucco -
Caramelized Onion Orzo, Braised Vegetables, Preserved Citrus, Red Wine Demi $45". Most of the time I am decided with my entree upon reading the words "osso bucco", as it is one of my all-time favorite dishes. I've never had a venison version before, but I grew up eating venison way more often than beef so this was not a strange decision for me. (See above history about my redneck family related to the HRH club lounge review ) Le Cellier got this just right - it had a great roasted flavor and the braised vegetables were also delicious. I was glad that R is a sharing person as it was fantastic to try two such different (and tasty) dishes.

For dessert, R selected the "Chocolate Whisky Trifle - malted milk panna cotta, caramel popcorn, whisky caramel sauce, buttered popcorn gelato $11" and the caramel sauce was poured on by our server tableside.

I chose the "Nanaimo Pie - chocolate hazelnut crust, coconut custard, cream anglaise $11". I have to say neither dessert was anything to write home about. We left a lot of the nanaimo pie, despite me being a coconut enthusiast. I didn't detect much coconut flavor (or any flavor at all really). R's dessert was better but still nothing I would order again. The popcorn gelato was at least interesting.

The dining plan paid $167.18 for our meal (we had a few drinks and the tip out of pocket, obviously) and our TIW card saved us $7.65 on drinks. We had a fabulous server and the first 2/3 of our meal was amazing so I can understand Le Cellier's popularity. I would love to get dressed up and come back to Le Cellier for date night and finish the evening watching Illuminations after dinner. Filing that idea away for next time...

After our lunch, we rode Soarin' with a fastpass (spoiler alert: this is the only attraction we ended up riding the entire trip at Disney). We were seated next to some folks who'd never ridden it before and that always makes my experience so much more enjoyable to share their fun in seeing things anew. I have finally stopped crying upon first sight of the Eiffel Tower scene so I consider this a success!

We never got our room text so we stopped by the desk at WL to find out where we'd be staying, and we also picked up the packet that they'd been so anxiously calling us about - it was our La Nouba vouchers. Our room was 5030 - perfectly what I'd requested, with a great view of Magic Kingdom in the distance.

Here's our view from another day, with clear blue skies:

Nothing like opening the curtains and seeing these landmarks!!!

We were also treated to another round of "thank you" pins (photo taken after we got home)

They are pretty cute and a nice gesture.

We rested for a while as we needed to dress nicely for our big dinner...

Up next: VICTORIA AND ALBERT'S!!!

Math in this post: 2 snack credits ($4.29 x 2) and 2 dining credits ($167.18), two tours ($210.87). Plan value so far: $386.63

I'm going to start at the end and say OMGOMGOMG V&A! OMG. so excited for that review.

I'm sorry your tour was a bust. I hate overspiced winter drinks! And I hate licorice, I might have spit that out... I don't think clove tastes like licorice really but it definitely is one of those things where a very little goes a very long way.

Your le cellier review made me want to go... I think it is going to make the short list for the next trip! if I pay OOP there is kid steak on the menu, right? lol. or maybe I will have to do the DxDDP just so kiddo can get the filet on the cheap again. They have fries as a side there. one last hurrah before kiddo gets over 10. Kind of disappointed about the dessert, I was reading the description and drooling and sad the trifle was just ok. Might have to stick with the creme brulee. Oh god already planning lunch here, lol. Don't read reviews when hungry for dinner!

and I'd say if you're going to only ride ONE ride at Disney... Soarin' is the one to do. we rode it about 6 or 7 times when we were there!