Dining at Disney with a 16y.o. Reviews with pictures from August trip

[scoobydooby2016]

Lovely report! I took my DD alone when she was 12 and as my son is 'over Disney' we are doing another solo trip in February when she will be 15. Your report has made me excited!!!! She is also a plain eater and we also share a lot so this was an interesting report for me. That said we have the UK deal for free dining so I anticipate mountains of uneaten food. Usually my bottomless pit DH and DS polish off our leftovers!

 

[Ruth B]

Thanks for sharing. Looks like you had a great time. Such a good idea to share meals- will be trying to persuade my children to do this!

 

[OasterP]

Thanks for the report! I agree with sharing the food - it's usually a lot! I can't wait to go again - I am going through Disney withdrawal.

 

[Sunshine11]

Hi to all. I have decided to write a quick dining report from our trip this August. My DD Andi and I were at the world from 8/21-8/29/16. We like trying new places, however, Andi is a very simple small eater so we often share things and don't order anything to exotic. We tried some new places and also went back to a couple faves. We do mother/daughter trips a couple times a year. We are AP holders but we do not have the TIW card. We payed OOP for all our meals. We charge everything to our magic bands then pay before checkout with my gift cards, I have purchased. I usually get my GC from SAMs club so I save a little money that way.

We stayed at Pop the first night and the GF for seven nights. We really enjoyed both of the resorts View attachment 192414 View attachment 192418 View attachment 192420 View attachment 192421 View attachment 192422 . Our first day we always go to MK and have corn dog nuggets and fries at Casey's Corner. This time was no different, I did forget to get pictures of our first meal, we shared them. We later in the evening had a dole whip and tried the BBQ chicken macaroni and cheese at the Friar's Nook, this was pretty good. It was a little rich so glad we shared it. I will show pictures of our resort and the Mac and cheese, we did better with pictures after the first day.

Looking forward to your reviews - thanks for sharing. Quick question. Do you mind me asking where you got your t-shirt in this post? Would love to purchase one. Thanks.

 

[Sunshine11]

8/25/16. The Wave for breakfast, Nine Dragons for dinner and Illuminations Dessert Party. We didn't hurry this morning and made our way over to the CR for our breakfast. We both did the buffet here and really liked it. The choices were really good and different than the other breakfast buffet's we have been to. The sweet potato pancakes and grits here were really good. I love how all the yogurt and fruit comes in individual servings for you. A made to order omelet is also available to you if you like, sadly we have smaller appetites so I always feel like the restaurant always comes out ahead when Andi and I dine. This buffet was cheaper than most other ones around Disney and one of the only ones which gave an AP discount. I also liked the fact that you could order coffee and juice, so you got two drinks. I would do this one again for sure. It was also quiet and a great setting for your meal.

Nine Dragons for dinner was our choice in Epcot this time. We have never eaten here, I always see mixed reviews on this place. We really liked our meal. We had the potstickers (of course Andi's favorite) and we shared the Honey-Sesame chicken. The food was really fresh and flavorful. Our waitress was nice and refilled my water yippee! The only negative was we were so close to another table.

Illuminations Dessert Party. This was put on by the travel agency we used for this trip. It was way cheaper than Disney's dessert party. We were seated close to the water in Italy. The dessert choices were small. There was a couple different cupcakes, s'more brownies, cookies, and unlimited Mickey bars. There was champagne for the adults and lemonade and water for all. Seeing the fireworks, from here was awesome. I really enjoyed them even though it was hot and sticky outside. We had a surprise after the show and we all got to go on Soarin after the park was closed, it was really nice. We sat in B1 so much better visual. The desserts were limited and fair but the ice cream yum! It was worth the 25.00 compared to 69.00. I really enjoyed it overall. I also had my first dis meet with kastoney, who is famous on here for her awesome DR. I am hoping she will write one for her trip. She was very nice and her husband and DD Casey were also sweet.View attachment 192640View attachment 192641View attachment 192642View attachment 192643View attachment 192644View attachment 192645View attachment 192646

Enjoying your review and then realized we were at the same dessert party. We were the first table facing the water on the left. Small world. Thinking about trying the Wave for breakfast next trip. Did you love the GF? We always stay YC/BC (family vote) and I'm dying to do the GF one of these trips.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Looking forward to your reviews - thanks for sharing. Quick question. Do you mind me asking where you got your t-shirt in this post? Would love to purchase one. Thanks.

I got my shirt at AK in Harambe gift shop. I always find cute shirts in AK! We loved the GF, it was so nice, we had turn down service with chocolates on our pillows every night. I have stayed at all 3 monorail resorts now and would pick GF as my favorite. I thought Poly was my favorite until this trip. I wish I would have met you at the dessert party, it is a small world. I enjoyed it did you?

 

[disneyAndi14]

Lovely report! I took my DD alone when she was 12 and as my son is 'over Disney' we are doing another solo trip in February when she will be 15. Your report has made me excited!!!! She is also a plain eater and we also share a lot so this was an interesting report for me. That said we have the UK deal for free dining so I anticipate mountains of uneaten food. Usually my bottomless pit DH and DS polish off our leftovers!

I have a son and hubby who are both so done with Disney, so I love going with my DD, she wants to do the college program when she is able.

 

[RedskinFan]

Thanks for sharing! Your daughter is a cutie! I'm hoping my DD will want to still travel with me to Disney when she is 16.

I'm taking DS(10) and DD(8) for a week long trip next month and we will be on the QS dining plan. We'll be sharing two meals between the 3 of us at each meal and I'm sure a lot of it won't get eaten. Just too much food especially since the kids will be too excited to eat more then a few bites at each meal. Although I'm looking forward to using the snack credits at food and wine. While my kids will try anything, they tend to stick to plain and simple for their main meals too!

 

[ShannonMB]

Love your DD's Haunted Mansion ears!!! I need a pair of those. My DD (15 1/2) are heading down the day after tomorrow for a 4 night mother/daughter trip and I am so excited!!! THanks for the reviews!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Thanks for sharing! Your daughter is a cutie! I'm hoping my DD will want to still travel with me to Disney when she is 16.

I'm taking DS(10) and DD(8) for a week long trip next month and we will be on the QS dining plan. We'll be sharing two meals between the 3 of us at each meal and I'm sure a lot of it won't get eaten. Just too much food especially since the kids will be too excited to eat more then a few bites at each meal. Although I'm looking forward to using the snack credits at food and wine. While my kids will try anything, they tend to stick to plain and simple for their main meals too!

Thank you, have a great trip, we find sharing and snacking keep us plenty satisfied on our trips!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Love your DD's Haunted Mansion ears!!! I need a pair of those. My DD (15 1/2) are heading down the day after tomorrow for a 4 night mother/daughter trip and I am so excited!!! THanks for the reviews!!

Her HM ears are from a shop on etsy, they light up as well, she has about 6 different pairs of ears now, she collects unique ones. Have a great trip. Enjoy the mom/daughter time!

 

[Sunshine11]

I got my shirt at AK in Harambe gift shop. I always find cute shirts in AK! We loved the GF, it was so nice, we had turn down service with chocolates on our pillows every night. I have stayed at all 3 monorail resorts now and would pick GF as my favorite. I thought Poly was my favorite until this trip. I wish I would have met you at the dessert party, it is a small world. I enjoyed it did you?

Yes, we loved the party. Some in our party didn't think the food and especially drink selections were varied enough (meaning they wanted more selections) but I thought for the $, it was fantastic. My son-in-law never saw Illuminations before and I told him that he will probably never have a better view. lol. It was so nice to have a seat and a great view. The weather was pretty good in my opinion that evening too. I didn't go to soarin after but the rest of our party did. I walked back to the hotel with my daughter so she could get the baby to sleep. I wish we would have met also. I am so so interested in staying at the GF, but like I said, but two of our family members are sold on YC/BC (stayed there four years in a row). Are you going back next year?

 

[disneyAndi14]

Yes, we loved the party. Some in our party didn't think the food and especially drink selections were varied enough (meaning they wanted more selections) but I thought for the $, it was fantastic. My son-in-law never saw Illuminations before and I told him that he will probably never have a better view. lol. It was so nice to have a seat and a great view. The weather was pretty good in my opinion that evening too. I didn't go to soarin after but the rest of our party did. I walked back to the hotel with my daughter so she could get the baby to sleep. I wish we would have met also. I am so so interested in staying at the GF, but like I said, but two of our family members are sold on YC/BC (stayed there four years in a row). Are you going back next year?

We are hoping to go back with the same deal if they offer it again, we have never stayed at Yacht club, how is it? We did stay once at BCV, it was nice and I loved being so close to Epcot. My daughter wants to try Yacht club or Wilderness but not sure the deal is offered at WL. We did the Soarin after and it was fun, I also loved Illuminations, because we have never had such a great view before either. I was impressed with the spot and the party for the price as well. Andi wants to stay at all the deluxe resorts so we have never stayed anywhere twice LOL.

 

[Sunshine11]

Great idea. I love the idea of trying all the deluxe resorts. We stayed at Wilderness Lodge the year before we started staying at the Yacht Club. We previously had stayed at POFQ, so Wilderness Lodge was a step up for us. We loved it. Still do. I believe there is construction going on there, so check that out before booking. We liked the compactness of the Wilderness Lodge. Everything under one roof and nothing too far away. Awesome lobby too. The rooms at WL are a little smaller in size than YC/BC rooms. I think they only sleep four in the WL rooms as opposed to 5 in YC/BC. For two people, it isn't a big deal. We also loved the boat to MK from WL.

My family fell in love with the pool (stormalong bay) at YC/BC. We prefer the YC over the BC as the lobby is a bit calmer (at least during the August time frame we go yearly) and the fact you are pretty much guaranteed a full balcony at YC, versus 50/50 chance at BC, plus the YC is the first stop before the BC on the bus pickup route. We did stay at BC this past August as the rooms at YC are really ready for a refurb and I believe they are starting that in October. The rooms at the BC were recently redone and it was nice to have a refurbed room. We will choose YC next year over BC though. The only quick service area is the marketplace and that is at BC. It isn't as nice as the quick service counters at WL, GF or Poly, by any means. Small and crowded. YC serves coffee and breakfast muffins in their lobby bar in the morning if you don't want to walk to the Marketplace at the BC. We love the area of the YC/BC on Crescent Lake as we like the ability to have meals/visit at Boardwalk, Swan, Dolphin and the World Showcase easily. The convenience to restaurants within walking distance and the pool complex (SAB) is why I can't get my family to switch resorts. #firstworldproblems. lol. I remember Wilderness Lodge was offered back a few years ago but I can't remember if they offered it lately in their Labor Day deal. At that time, we found it was only about $10 less a night than YC and thought YC offered so much more for $10.

 

[disneyAndi14]

That's great to know Sunshine 11, we will definitely consider YC for next August then we can meet as well if you are there! Thanks for the info.

 

[Sunshine11]

That's great to know Sunshine 11, we will definitely consider YC for next August then we can meet as well if you are there! Thanks for the info.

Perfect! Great plan. Sorry for high jacking your review.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Great review!!!! Could you tell me where you got her white t-shirt with all the Disney snacks? My 13 year old daughter is Disney crazy and that would be a fantastic Christmas gift for her in anticipation of our March trip!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Great review!!!! Could you tell me where you got her white t-shirt with all the Disney snacks? My 13 year old daughter is Disney crazy and that would be a fantastic Christmas gift for her in anticipation of our March trip!

Thank you, the shirt is from a shop online called oh yea apparel, they are only open certain times I guess, Andi liked them on Instagram so that is how she got their info. They sell unique Disney shirts, I hope that helps, also checkout red bubble online, they sell cool ones also.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Thank you!!!! Found them and will be stalking on instagram until the restock!

 

[kastoney]

Hi Caroline!!!! I finally found your report and now its over. I guess better late than never. It's so funny to have talked to you all about food and now see it for myself ; )

Glad you and Andi had a great trip. Hope she is enjoying school so far!