Holy Moly! There's no way we can finish this! (review with pics) (update WPE and done!)

Finally back! A teacher's life in Sept...never ending.
So August 27th we went to DHS. We spent the morning, went back for a rest in the afternoon and returned in the evening for Fantasmic. It was overall a nice relaxing day. Due to the areas of DHS under refurb we weren't rushed on this day and completed everything we wanted to do.

We had booked a Fantasmic lunch package at Mama Melrose because I knew Kirill would not wait well in the normal Fantasmic line. The other bonus was that under the dining plan it was still only 1 credit and we got an appetizer as well. What an awesome decision!

We were sat very quickly once we arrived, having just dashed from Frozen sing-along.

We made our drink choices and then our app choices.

Doug went with the Caesar salad, I chose the Caprese salad and Kirill had apple slices which are listed as a dessert option but we asked and were granted them.

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I really enjoyed my salad. I'm a sucker for a Caprese and very few restaurants here make them. I really liked that the basil was shredded so I got a bit with every bite and did not have to slice it myself like I do here. The balsamic was good and I liked the portion size. I cleared my plate!
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Doug was not as happy with his salad. I think most people would have liked it but he likes a salad drowning in dressing and this was quite dry. He was a huge fan of the bread and dipping oil though. He emptied the basket. I had a taste and it was good but I didn't want to stuff myself on bread.
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For my entree I had the shrimp campanelle. The shrimp were a bit too cooked for my liking as they were on the verge of rubbery. The pasta was good but I found the 4-cheese sauce very salty. Maybe it was me since I don't cook with salt but this was the only time on our trip I really noticed the salt. I ate about 1/2 of this and was done. Next time I will be getting a tomato based sauce. I was kicking myself for not ordering the penne alla vodka right after I tasted the salt.

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Kirill had the penne pasta with no sauce for his entree. He insisted I take a picture of it because I was taking pictures of all the food. He then ate every piece and asked for ice cream.

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Doug had the pizza de carne. He ate every bite and said it was excellent! Much better than his salad. It looked very good. I love wood burning oven pizzas and this hit the mark for the one bite he allowed me to have.

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Here is Kirill's ice cream...melting before our very eyes. He likes soupy ice cream so he was happy.

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The dessert sampler for the Fantasmic package. Doug and I were given this as there is no dessert choice. I ate the mango pearls off the cheesecake and he ate both cheesecakes. I got both tiramisus which were awesome! I would have ordered the large tiramisu if I'd had the choice. Doug ate both orange cakes and said they were ok. These are not his style of dessert at all so I was shocked he even tried them. He got a mickey bar later that day.

So after this very heavy lunch, we went back to the resort for a rest and swim. Our plan was to go back and get CS for supper but we were not hungry at all. Not until we went to Fantasmic did we want something around 8:00.
We used 2 CS credits and while not the best value we got:
- hotdog
- chips
- diet coke
- popcorn
- nachos
- strawberry lemonade

We shared it all and passed the time for the show very quickly. Kirill got a bubble maker and was happy. He loves Fantasmic. We had watched it so many times on youtube and to have him sitting on my lap while we finally watched it was such a happy moment. His favorite part is when Maleficent turns into the dragon.
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Up next - Magic Kingdom (Be Our Guest breakfast)
 
So the next morning we got up and headed to MK for our Be Our Guest reservation at 9:00. By pure fluke I ran into one of my colleagues who was leaving with her boyfriend from their BOG breakfast. We had tried to meet up the day before to no avail. That night her boyfriend became her fiance when he proposed during Wishes while they were at the Poly. (awwww)

We went in and Doug was impressed we were skipping the order line and figured I'd done something to minimize waits because if there's a way I will find it! I explained how I had ordered our meals a month ago. We checked in, got our rose and found seats. Kirill chose the West Wing. I had shown him all 3 options before we left and this was his choice. No sooner had we gotten our drinks when our food arrived and 30 seconds later Kirill did not like the West Wing anymore because it was too scary. He's not normally scared of the dark so I was a bit surprised but I flagged down a cast member who kindly helped us move to the ballroom so we could enjoy our breakfast.

Our pictures are dark because they were taken in the West Wing.
I had the crepes from the kids menu. I think these should be added to the adult menu!! Very tasty!! I don't eat eggs and most of the options are eggs for adults. I couldn't handle the sweetness of the donut because I don't eat chocolate. The crepes were a lovely portion size for me at that hour. The yogourt and foam was delicious and I really enjoyed the berries and bananas inside. Just the right touch of sweet.

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Doug had Gaston's feast which is the closest thing to an American breakfast at BOG. He ate everything and had 2 pastries from the pastry plate.
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Sorry I take that back...I ate his fruit lol. Forgot that came with his.

Kirill had the meats and cheese from the adult menu. He ate the baguette and his meat. I got the piece of brie. He also ate a pastry. He enjoyed his breakfast :)
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Being on the DDP, BOG was a no brainer. A great use of a CS credit because of the pricing. Would we do it out of pocket? I don't think so because it's a very expensive breakfast. It was our first time there because I could never justify it for me and Doug but it was so nice to see interior in person. Doug went around and took pictures while Kirill and I were finishing up and I finally got that picture in front of the stain glass window.

Up next: Casey's
 
After our lovely breakfast at BOG we ambled our way through New Fantasyland, rode Under the Sea and Dumbo and made our way via railroad back to Main Street and the Barber shop for father/son haircuts. What a fun new experience! There were 2 other families there and it was so easy to strike up a conversation. After haircuts for the boys we went over the the Chapeau and got our first ears and then went to meet Mickey at the Town Square Theater. Trying to time things up for the new Castle Stage Show, we decided to grab a quick lunch at Casey's. We used 2 credits and got a foot-long hotdog with fries and drink for Doug with cotton candy which we saved for back in the room later (It actually came home with us and prolonged the magic) and we got the corn-dog nuggets with fries and Fanta and cracker jack for myself and Kirill to share. The cracker jack is still up in my cupboard so we weren't really hungry.

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It filled a hole. Doug loves hotdogs so he was happy. We liked the shoestring style fries. I wish they still did the nachos they had a few years back as I would have gotten those. We watched the move it, shake it parade go by and then went and watched the castle show which was fun. We then went into Adventureland and rode Aladdin, Pirates, and took in the Tiki Room, had ice cream (I miss being able to take my Dole Whip into the Tiki Room like in CA) before taking in the afternoon parade.

Up next: supper at Crystal Palace
 
Enjoying your reviews especially the maximizing QS credits. What a lovely way to celebrate as a family.

I only noticed on your last photo but your son and my daughter are the same :) My daughter was born without her left arm below elbow. She is 10 now. This one was taken at disney when she was nearly 5.

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Enjoying your reviews especially the maximizing QS credits. What a lovely way to celebrate as a family.

I only noticed on your last photo but your son and my daughter are the same :) My daughter was born without her left arm below elbow. She is 10 now. This one was taken at disney when she was nearly 5.

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That is amazing! I love the way she's holding the flower. Kirill always has something cradled in his little arm.
 
So supper that evening was at Crystal Palace. We were in a bit of a snit so have no food pictures, only a couple of pictures with characters and we didn't even wait for Tigger and Pooh. How did we get so off track? I had initially planned this day as a casual day at MK, using our FPs early and adding from there as we wanted. We had the BOG breakfast and the supper booked and planned to leave right after supper for an early evening back at the hotel.
Well when Kirill saw Splash Mountain the 1st day he wanted to ride it so much. There were no FPs left that day so I had to move it to this day and the only ones left were early evening. We had a 5:55 ressie and our FP was for 7:30 which should have been plenty of time and then leave the park.
However...Kirill and I had a FP for mine train and Doug was going to circle on the Peoplemover until he saw us waiting at the spot I told him to look for to meet back up. Kirill and I had a great ride with the Dwarves and went back to meet Doug...no sign of him. We waited 15 min...20min...I knew the Peoplemover would have passed by twice now and we could not see him. Our ressie time was creeping up quickly. Doug had chosen not to take his cell into the parks so I couldn't text him because he had said he would never let us get separated for very long. I should also mention Doug does not wear a watch so had no concept of time only that he knew we had a ressie. Finally we see him strolling over the spot were we were. He had decided to go to Carousel of Progress because we would not be doing that this trip. It's now 6:05 and I'm praying they will let us keep our ressie as we're booting it back to Main Street. I'm ready to clobber Doug and he knew it so just kept quiet and picked up the pace. If you don't wear a watch or take your phone, don't make arbitrary decisions that affect everyone in your party when you don't know times!!

We got to Crystal Palace and they checked us in but we were another 40 min waiting out on the deck before we were seated. We ate in a hurry, Piglet and Eeyore came by but Kirill was desperate for Splash Mountain and we didn't want him to miss that so we left before Pooh and Tigger came to our section. He loved Splash and was so happy we made it so all was redeemed.

Kirill ate turkey, potato, nugget, and corn and was happy. I had the ribs which were not as good as Chef Mickey's. I also enjoyed the mac and cheese, another pasta dish and I can't remember the rest because I was just stressed at this point and couldn't stop checking my watch. Doug knows I'm paranoid like that so was never late for the rest of the trip and took no more personal ventures haha.

I'll leave you with this picture...we're the back row. You can see the joy on Kirill's face.
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After getting back at a decent hour and getting a good night's sleep we were off for our Epcot day on August 29th. We had breakfast in our room and were off. Epcot is my favorite park and is normally a 2-day park with lots of World Showcase eating. We turned it into 1 day with Kirill and were not planning on World Showcase eating. It would depend on him. We went through Future World, riding Test Track with minimal wait, hitting it at rope drop and then crossing to the right side of the park and visiting the Seas, the Land (not Soarin'), and Figment. We then decided to split for lunch. Kirill and I headed to Mexico as he wanted tortilla chips and chicken tenders and I wanted the beef tacos. Doug who does not do Mexican went to the UK for fish and chips. He was under orders to eat and then meet us ASAP in Mexico as we are the slower eaters. He must have bolted his food because I was just starting my second taco when he found us. We ate at La Cantina and took advantage of the indoor seating to cool down. Sorry no pics of either meal here as Doug had the camera and was in a hurry to eat and forgot.

We were all happy and I really liked my watermelon popsicle I got my dessert. Very refreshing as we headed out of Epcot to rest up for the evening return. I'm not a churro person so knew I would be getting a popsicle.

Up next: Beaches and Cream and the return of good food pictures.
 


After a afternoon resting at the hotel (no swimming because it rained) we headed out on the DHS bus to take the boat to Beach Club for our highly anticipated supper at Beaches and Cream. I had read wonderful reviews here, my parents had been there on a previous trip and thought it was wonderful, and this was to replace Doug's burger he normally gets at LTT. We were all excited for the menu and especially the dessert options. The timing could not have been better. The rain ended as we got off the bus and out came the sun. We walked over to the boat dock and only waited about 30 seconds for the boat. This was our first time ever going to Yacht and Beach club so we were excited just to look at it up close. I've eaten at the Swan and Dolphin and Boardwalk but we'd never made it over here.
We waited about 10 min for our reservation and were seated at a middle table.
I couldn't believe the size of this place. I knew it was small but it really is small. No wonder ressies were hard to find. We had a lovely server who explained all our DDP options and we ordered.

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He noticed Doug taking pictures so waved at one point :)
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I had pink lemonade to drink which was very refreshing. Doug had his usual diet coke and Kirill had milk.
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Kirill had plain pasta and fries. He cleaned his plate. Our server was very impressed. Kirill really liked the twisty shape to his pasta and the fries were wonderful.

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Doug had the cheeseburger and really liked the cook of the patty. You could tell it was a homemade patty and not generic like at CS. He liked the grill taste on it and the toasted bun. This was before he put all his condiments on it. He asked for it without tomato. I ate his pickle. H got onion rings with his entree (included with DDP) and I got fries and we 1/2ed them. He enjoyed this meal very much!

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I got the patty melt. I was so happy with my choice. I like burgers but not with the traditional toppings. This was exactly what I needed. the grilled onions with the swiss cheese and peppercorn dressing was amazing and the toasted rye bread was so much nicer than a regular bun. I ate my pickle as well and would have cleaned my plate if not for dessert. I highly recommend the patty melt if you don't do a traditional burger (I'm loving the new create your own burger at McDonalds)

So we did save room for dessert and got:
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Kirill's

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Doug's
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and mine - the frozen sunshine. I got this based on my mom raving about it from 2015. We have similar tastes and this was right up my alley. When you can't have chocolate it limits options. This was sooo good. Our lovely waiter put the rest into a to-go cup for me so I wouldn't have to leave it behind. We walked back to International Gateway as the rain had cleared the humidity a bit and it was so peaceful, just taking in Beach Club's scenery.

I did get a shock from Doug though who said we should stay there next time, especially if we're hoping to come during Food and Wine. We've never stayed deluxe before so it would be a very big treat. We'll see what the future holds.
We spent the evening in World Showcase going very quickly through the countries (I've never just walked through Morocco). Kirill enjoyed the fish pond in Japan, Gran Fiesta Tour, and the fountain in Italy. It's the first time I've skipped every show in WS. The evening started to go downhill though when Frozen broke down right at our FP time and it was not coming back up before the night ended. We had to decide if it was worth staying for Illuminations which were 1 1/2 hours away. Doug and I would have done it for sure but Kirill was our concern. He began saying he wanted to wait it out but then the drizzle came and it was uncomfortable. We chose to return to the resort and leave Illuminations until the next trip.

Silver Lining - all was not lost with our Frozen FP. The cast member instructed us that if we were staying on-site to get our concierge to print our FPs for that day showing we had a FP and if we were returned to Epcot the next day they would honor it. I promptly did this when we returned as we were heading back to Epcot the next morning to ride Soarin'. Kirill was so happy and i was so relieved ;)

Up next: Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch and our return to Epcot.
 
We're staying at BCV at the end of the month and I've been stalking reservations for Beaches & Cream...hoping it comes through, it looks delicious!
 
Wow, that ice cream is huge! I'm so excited about our reservation there for our January trip after seeing those pictures!
 
Wow, I'm impressed you could eat two courses! We went with that intention but ate all our entrees so we couldn't fit dessert in. Never mind, it just means we have to go back again. Yay
 
Loving your reviews and appreciate the CS tips. This will be our first trip with the regular DDP, usually my DH like the DxDDP - but we don't need that much this trip as we are able to start decreasing the character meals!!! The CS swapping tips will really help us!
 
Our last park day started with breakfast at 'Ohana with Lilo and Stitch.
Character interaction was great. We met all 4 and had a lovely chat with a group of new cast members at the table next door. We liked the family style as everyone could eat as much of their favorites as they wanted. The food is simple but works well for my families tastes.
I ate the pineapple coconut bread.
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This was amazing!! I added a smidge of butter and it was sooo good. I kept saying I wouldn't finish it to leave room for other things but I kept going back to it. Doug ate the plain roll and liked it.

We were also served the fruit plate.
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I was the only one who touched this as Kirill only like apples and Doug is not a fruit person. It was very fresh and not too ripe. The raspberries were a nice contrast to the sweet melon. I ate it all but the canteloupe.

We were then served our family platter which was the same size for our party of 3 as for the 4 adults at the table next to us.
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Kirill took all the sausages, they shared the eggs, Doug and I shared the bacon, we all had the potatoes (love the seasoning of these!), I had a biscuit and the boys shared the waffles.
It was delicious and we all headed off for Epcot with happy, full bellies. I had the lilikoi juice to drink and the boys had tea. I had coffee as well which was good.
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Kirill enjoying his tea.

We headed to Epcot and rose Soarin', Frozen, and then got ice cream and Kaki Gori on our way out the international gateway. We took the bus from DHS back to the resort to swim and get some packing done before heading in to the MK that night.

Up next: 1900 Park Fare and Wolfgang Puck Express.
 
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback :)

So that evening we went to 1900 Park Fare. I have no pictures of our meals here. We were seated so fast and then the characters were on us almost immediately. I missed Prince Charming as I was getting Kirill's plate first.
I was around for the step-sisters, Cinderella and Lady Tremaine. Kirill liked everyone but Lady Tremaine. He was petrified of her until she relaxed her demeanor a bit. She tried to match him up with Anastasia.
I think he was getting a bit tired of nuggets and fries at this point. He asked for soup, turkey, mashed potato, and corn. He ate the whole plate. Our CM was impressed with him.

Doug had tacos, hotdogs, nuggets and pizza. I'm sure the CM thought he was getting the plate for Kirill...but no picky Doug had what he wanted.

I had the butternut squash ravioli which was divine. It tasted so fresh. I also tried the strawberry soup which I liked so much I had 2 more cups of it. I had farro salad, the mac and cheese, and a couple other things I can't remember now without pictures. I do remember commenting how awesome this buffet was for choice. I really enjoyed everything. We'll be coming back for sure.

So that was our last TS. It was a great way to end our park days. We headed back into MK in a drizzle. The park was completely empty and everything was a walk-on. We didn't mind the drizzle and let Kirill name what he wanted. We rode Splash, Pirates, Buzz, Aladdin, and shut down the People Mover. It was very cool going around an empty park and being the last ones off a ride. We walked to the Tomorrowland entrance and watched Wishes. It was a perfect end to vacation...well almost.

We had a late flight out the next day so after having breakfast and checking out we headed to Disney Springs for lunch. This was the reason I had strategized so much with the CS credits was to leave enough for our last lunch. We went to Wolfgang Puck Express which I hadn't been to since 2009.

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Doug had pepperoni pizza...shocker. He enjoyed it though.

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Kirill had the chicken tenders and fries. He finished his and had chocolate milk to drink. Doug and Kirill had cookies for dessert.

I had:
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the Chinois chicken salad. OMG!!! This was amazing!! I love the vinaigrette it had, the flavor of the chicken, the crunch of the cashews and wonton bits. I ate the whole thing and had frozen yogourt to go for my dessert. The other thing I loved was the drink selection. I had cherry coke and 3 different kinds of ice tea. I need to come back here again. My mother can't wait to try the salad next time she comes as I haven't shut up about it.
And that is a wrap! Thanks to everyone who followed along the past 2 months. I've enjoyed sharing our eating adventures with you.

It was so much fun travelling with a child and seeing it through his eyes. We've never experienced so much character meals and buffets before. We loved the choice and freedom of the DDP. We used our remaining snack credits to bring home treats from Goofy's.
I'm now helping plan for my nephew to go next Fall. Looking forward to checking out more menus and hoping his family will take food pictures.

Thanks for tuning in :)
 
Thanks everyone for the positive feedback :)

So that evening we went to 1900 Park Fare. I have no pictures of our meals here. We were seated so fast and then the characters were on us almost immediately. I missed Prince Charming as I was getting Kirill's plate first.
I was around for the step-sisters, Cinderella and Lady Tremaine. Kirill liked everyone but Lady Tremaine. He was petrified of her until she relaxed her demeanor a bit. She tried to match him up with Anastasia.
I think he was getting a bit tired of nuggets and fries at this point. He asked for soup, turkey, mashed potato, and corn. He ate the whole plate. Our CM was impressed with him.

Doug had tacos, hotdogs, nuggets and pizza. I'm sure the CM thought he was getting the plate for Kirill...but no picky Doug had what he wanted.

I had the butternut squash ravioli which was divine. It tasted so fresh. I also tried the strawberry soup which I liked so much I had 2 more cups of it. I had farro salad, the mac and cheese, and a couple other things I can't remember now without pictures. I do remember commenting how awesome this buffet was for choice. I really enjoyed everything. We'll be coming back for sure.

So that was our last TS. It was a great way to end our park days. We headed back into MK in a drizzle. The park was completely empty and everything was a walk-on. We didn't mind the drizzle and let Kirill name what he wanted. We rode Splash, Pirates, Buzz, Aladdin, and shut down the People Mover. It was very cool going around an empty park and being the last ones off a ride. We walked to the Tomorrowland entrance and watched Wishes. It was a perfect end to vacation...well almost.

We had a late flight out the next day so after having breakfast and checking out we headed to Disney Springs for lunch. This was the reason I had strategized so much with the CS credits was to leave enough for our last lunch. We went to Wolfgang Puck Express which I hadn't been to since 2009.

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Doug had pepperoni pizza...shocker. He enjoyed it though.

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Kirill had the chicken tenders and fries. He finished his and had chocolate milk to drink. Doug and Kirill had cookies for dessert.

I had:
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the Chinois chicken salad. OMG!!! This was amazing!! I love the vinaigrette it had, the flavor of the chicken, the crunch of the cashews and wonton bits. I ate the whole thing and had frozen yogourt to go for my dessert. The other thing I loved was the drink selection. I had cherry coke and 3 different kinds of ice tea. I need to come back here again. My mother can't wait to try the salad next time she comes as I haven't shut up about it.
And that is a wrap! Thanks to everyone who followed along the past 2 months. I've enjoyed sharing our eating adventures with you.

It was so much fun travelling with a child and seeing it through his eyes. We've never experienced so much character meals and buffets before. We loved the choice and freedom of the DDP. We used our remaining snack credits to bring home treats from Goofy's.
I'm now helping plan for my nephew to go next Fall. Looking forward to checking out more menus and hoping his family will take food pictures.

Thanks for tuning in :)

I don't remember there being that much choice at 1900 Park Fare when I was there! Although, that was 10 years ago, I think... I may have to try it again!
 
thanks for the great trip report. I am traveling with my 8 year old in December (took him 2 years ago) but always love seeing how other picky kids do at restaurants :) mine has some sensory issues and it makes for more limited food choices as well :)
 

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