Keep Calm and Go to Disney! 10/21 - 11/4/14 COMPLETE

[goodeats]

That club level spread is amazing. Usually I'm not impressed and question the value of CL, but Old Faithful seems worth it. I'm wondering if a stay in the Deluxe Rooms (or Jr Suites whatever they're called now) is in my future? With a hefty discount code of course!

Are you going to report on the breakfast offerings?

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Do you have a trip coming up soon, Rachel? If so, did you make a BoG lunch reservation yesterday? I made one for my next trip in May but am still unsure about it.

Yes Barb, very excited to be heading back at the end of May to celebrate Chase's graduation.

I decided to skip the BoG lunch reservation. I think we are going to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour instead.

My DH is going to be sad that the salmon at Artist Point is different. That is one of his favorites.

If I ever pony up for club level it would have to be at WL. So many delicious looking choices!

 

[vettegirl]

I have heard all about those Magic bars and cobbler there!! I would go into sugar shock trying all of that goodness. Again their spread at the WL CL is the best value CL in all of WDW.

I see you are going in May, what are your dates?

 

[Deanie1]

Wow, I am really enjoying your Dining review. And the pictures are wonderful. I really like that you are showing all the resorts that you stayed at also. I am considering a first-ever solo trip in 2017. Most people on the Disboards recommend a shorter solo trip the first time but I live so far away (close to Vancouver, BC, Canada) that I like to make it worthwhile. Unfortunately DH is not interested and my kids are grown. Do you get lonely at all? I attended the F&W Festival and MNSSHP in 2013 and enjoyed that time of year so much that I would like to go back then. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

 

[Deanie1]

duplicate - sorry

 

[LuvEeyore]

Great updates

 

[jabead]

I'm with ya on the cobbler the apple is usually good, but the peach and strawberry is divine. Those s'mores tarts look delicious. They didn't have any of those on our last trip or I would have devoured a few for sure.

How great to watch thr fireworks from your balcony. It looks like a pretty good view to me.

Yes, the cobbler was a bit of a disappointment. But there would still be berry cobbler in my very near future.

Are you going to report on the breakfast offerings?

Breakfast report coming right up!

Yes Barb, very excited to be heading back at the end of May to celebrate Chase's graduation.

I decided to skip the BoG lunch reservation. I think we are going to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour instead.

My DH is going to be sad that the salmon at Artist Point is different. That is one of his favorites.

If I ever pony up for club level it would have to be at WL. So many delicious looking choices!

My DH and I did the KTTK tour during our anniversary trip a few years ago. We really enjoyed it. Oh, and frankly the lunch at CHH that is included was better than the lunches I've had at BoG. So I think you've made the right choice.

As for AP's salmon, I definitely haven't given up on it. I've had it four times previously and it's always been great. Next time I might go with medium rather than medium rare though.

I see you are going in May, what are your dates?

As of now, we will be there from May 12 - 20 with a possible two nights at Universal in the middle. How about you and Alexander?

Wow, I am really enjoying your Dining review. And the pictures are wonderful. I really like that you are showing all the resorts that you stayed at also. I am considering a first-ever solo trip in 2017. Most people on the Disboards recommend a shorter solo trip the first time but I live so far away (close to Vancouver, BC, Canada) that I like to make it worthwhile. Unfortunately DH is not interested and my kids are grown. Do you get lonely at all? I attended the F&W Festival and MNSSHP in 2013 and enjoyed that time of year so much that I would like to go back then. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

This solo trip thing has been a gradual process for me. My first experience was in December 2013, but I was actually only alone when I flew to Orlando. Once there I met up with a group of DISers and spent nearly all my time with them, including all of my meals. My next trip in April/May 2014 was a spur of the moment trip to celebrate my birthday. This time I spent quite a bit of park time alone, but I ate dinner every night with DIS friends. Then on this trip (which ended up being for 2 weeks) I had a lot of alone time, but I did have several DIS meets (most of these were for meals) and my husband did fly in and join me for a few days. If I hadn't had a busy schedule with several F & W events planned plus the DIS meets and the nice bonus of spending a few days with my DH, I may have gotten lonely at times with such a long trip. But with all of this, I enjoyed every minute of my trip and the two weeks seemed to fly by very quickly. My trips though are focused more on the food rather than the rides. During my two weeks I probably only went on 10 rides, at the most, as I think that rides are much more fun when you are sharing the experience with a friend or loved one. As far as the sit-down meals, while I prefer having a dining companion, dining alone wasn't all that bad when you are busy taking photos and notes for your dining report. So anyway, my advice would be to go to WDW during the F & W festival when there are so many extra events going on or my second choice would be in early December to see all of beautiful holiday decorations, etc. Join a Facebook group of people traveling to WDW during the same month as you and maybe make plans to meet up with some of those people or perhaps with people here on the boards. Since I'm the quiet/shy type I never thought I would enjoy meeting up with strangers, but I have found that my DIS meets have been among the highlights of my last 4 trips to Disney World. Ok, that's probably way more info than you were looking for , but hopefully I've given you the encouragement that you needed to give a solo trip a try. Feel free to ask questions here or send me a PM if I can be of any help.

Great updates

Thank you and thanks for reading!

 

[jabead]

Monday, October 27th

This was another day of highs and lows, but unlike Friday these were not created by food. Instead, the highlights of this day involved the meeting of two DISboard members. However, I had long been planning to meet up with a third DIS friend but sadly that didn't happen, thus creating the biggest disappointment not only of the day but of this trip.


But before we get to all that, let's talk breakfast.

Old Faithful Club Lounge Part III - Continental Breakfast


The lounge begins serving breakfast at 7:00 a.m. and I was there at 7:05 taking photos for my review. I actually arrived though as they were still putting out their breakfast spread, so I waited outside and took some "sunrise over the lake" photos from the windows in the hallway outside the lounge. Here is one of those...







Then it was on to the food, which was plentiful. They had cinnamon rolls...






Blueberry and chocolate/chocolate chip mini muffins...








There were croissants...





...and an assortment of bagels.





Four kinds of cold cereal, Rice Krispies and Raisin Bran...





Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes...




They also had hot cereal, delicious oatmeal along with toppings like brown sugar, raisins, etc., which I failed to photograph...





Next up are the fresh fruit offerings, starting with apples (wrapped in plastic) and bananas...




The melons...watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew.










Also there was pineapple...




...as well as my favorite, red grapes.





The refrigerator case was stocked with yogurt, milk, and tomato juice...





Other available beverages were regular coffee, with or without caffeine...





...as well as an espresso machine.









There were also hot chocolate (& marshmallows) and a variety of Twinings tea packets available...





Cold beverages included water and cranberry juice...





...as well as both apple and orange juice.





I made my choices and returned to the comfort of my room to eat. However, there were plenty of empty tables, couches, and comfy chairs around where I could have had a quiet and relaxing breakfast, as hardly anyone else was up this early in the morning.



​

​

ooths
Continued in next post
​

​

​

 

[jabead]

Once I got back to my room, I took a quick photo of my breakfast before devouring it...





I love their oatmeal and toppings. It is so much better than the instant oatmeal that I frequently have for breakfast at home.



I also couldn't resist having a cinnamon roll and blueberry mini-muffin, in addition to some grapes...





I had a cup of coffee, which I quickly emptied and wanted a second cup. When I returned to the lounge for it, it was just after 7:30 and the guest traffic was beginning to pick up a little more. However, it was still quiet down below at Whispering Canyon Cafe, which had just opened at 7:30...





After finishing my breakfast, I went out onto my balcony to check out the view by the light of day. While I had a nice view of the Contemporary Resort when looking up...





Looking down, the view was not so great.





However, my one night stay in this CL room was now complete so it was time to pack up and move back down to a regular room. My room on the 4th floor (Room 4118) was ready when I checked out of the CL room at about 11:00 a.m. My new home for the next 2 nights was a regular room with two queens but had a Woods View, though I had only reserved and paid for a Standard View. Woohoo...an upgrade!! A small one, but nonetheless a free upgrade.






Once I had settled in a bit into my new digs, it was time to go downstairs for a quick DIS meet with Sue (Wood Nymph) and her DH. I had the privilege of meeting this nice couple from my home state of Illinois for the first time ever in the beautiful Wilderness Lodge lobby. I of course had to document our meeting with a photo...




Sadly our visit was cut short by the arrival of the nasty old Magical Express bus that would be taking them to airport. But hopefully we will meet again and next time have a meal together...because that is how we roll here on the Disney Dining Reviews board. Thanks Sue, it was a pleasure meeting you!

Next Up: Lunch at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival Booths
​

Next up: Lunch at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival booths

t Epcot's Food & Wine Festival booths​

 

[Wood Nymph]

Once I had settled in a bit into my new digs, it was time to go downstairs for a quick DIS meet with Sue (Wood Nymph) and her DH. I had the privilege of meeting this nice couple from my home state of Illinois for the first time ever in the beautiful Wilderness Lodge lobby. I of course had to document our meeting with a photo...


Sadly our visit was cut short by the arrival of the nasty old Magical Express bus that would be taking them to airport. But hopefully we will meet again and next time have a meal together...because that is how we roll here on the Disney Dining Reviews board. Thanks Sue, it was a pleasure meeting you!

It was fun meeting you, too. We had such a great time talking that we were almost late for our ME bus. Like you we had a couple Dismeets on this trip, too. This October trip was one of our all time favorites.

Now my husband wants to stay club level at the WL after hearing about all the great food they serve there.

 

[pagek83]

Just got caught up and loving your reviews! Everything looks so good and is making me homesick for WDW!

 

[TeresaNJ]

Loving your report! I'll have to try that PFTS someday!

 

[vettegirl]

Breakfast looks so good their. How awesome to have a Dismeet also!! We are looking at arriving either the 5th or 6th, not sure how long we will stay right now.

 

[goofy4prez]

Barb, you mentioned several days ago on your post that it appears we have similar tastes; I think you are right on that one. As for my favorite dish at the Flying Fish that you asked me about; like you it is the Red Snapper. I tried a similar dish at Monsieur Paul and while it was pretty good, it was no where near as good as the Flying Fish. I should also say that one of my favorite desserts in all of WDW is the Caramelized Banana Napoleon at the Flying Fish; it is second only to the Almond Crusted Cheese Cake at Narccoossee's (another restaurant favorite).

I love your pictures of the Old Faithful Club Level pictures. You are truly making me homesick for our favorite concierge club and our favorite concierge cast members in WDW, not to mention our favorite resort as well. Our first trip ever to Disney was in 2008 and we had a regular room booked with a standard view. When we checked in at the desk the young lady at the desk said, " I see you are all 1st time visitors, we have a little something magical for you." I had no idea. About a minute or two later another cm came down and then asked for us to follow her up stairs so she could check us into our room. Yep, we were upgraded for our entire stay in a woods view, CL room. Disney sure knew what they were doing. We have been to Disney a total of 5 times since then with our 6th trip coming up in June. All of our previous trips have been in CL with 3 at the WL, 1 at the Contemporary, and one at the YC. Now that we have bought into the DVC and the Grand Floridian I'm sure we are going to miss CL. However, I'm sure we will still get our WL fix with staying at the VWL in the future.

Neat to see you were able to have a quick DIS meet with Wood Nymph. It is always fun to meet the person behind the screen name and spend some time with them. Over the past several years I have been blessed to meet some wonderful people here and look forward to seeing them again and others as well in the future.

 

[DLFan123]

Wow your photos of WL and CL are making me want to stay there! How do you find taking the bus service to MK? For me, if I stay at a deluxe property in the MK area (which I've never done but hope to some day), I want to be on the Monorail track. So I'd kind of ruled out WL, but it is a lot more affordable than the other MK resorts...

I love your cordial glass. How cute! I don't think I remember those from AKL CL.

It's too bad about the cobbler. It sounds like the smores dessert made up for it, though.

 

[DLFan123]

Catching up on your last couple of reviews.

I'm with you on BoG just being meh (is that a word?) to me. The food is decent and the decor is nice, but I'm not sure I'd get an ADR now that the fast pass option isn't available. What did you decide for your next trip?

I'm just excited I finally get to see inside BOG. We have a lunch ADR for April (couldn't get dinner). You know how when you go on the DW website, it says, "Which room will you dine in?" For two months, DP has been saying "None of them!" with a sad expression (because the ADRs for dinner have been booked for so long). I'm just so glad now I don't have to hear that four times a day as I'm checking for cancellations.

 

[Li Li]

Hi! I found your dining review, yay! Better late than never. You always have such spectacular reports, so thank you!

 

[athumann]

I just have to say how much I'm enjoying your report. By far the most organized, informative, well written report that I've ever read. I am particularly interested because I will be taking my first ever solo trip in May and have been curious to see how others have handled dining alone. I must say that you have put my fears to rest and I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[jabead]

Now my husband wants to stay club level at the WL after hearing about all the great food they serve there.

Oh, I think you guys would enjoy it!

Just got caught up and loving your reviews! Everything looks so good and is making me homesick for WDW!

Thanks so much! I too am always homesick for Disney World.

Loving your report! I'll have to try that PFTS someday!

Thanks Teresa!

Breakfast looks so good their. How awesome to have a Dismeet also!! We are looking at arriving either the 5th or 6th, not sure how long we will stay right now.

Darn, sounds like we will probably miss you by a few days. But if you should decide to make it a long trip, please let me know.

Barb, you mentioned several days ago on your post that it appears we have similar tastes; I think you are right on that one. As for my favorite dish at the Flying Fish that you asked me about; like you it is the Red Snapper. I tried a similar dish at Monsieur Paul and while it was pretty good, it was no where near as good as the Flying Fish. I should also say that one of my favorite desserts in all of WDW is the Caramelized Banana Napoleon at the Flying Fish; it is second only to the Almond Crusted Cheese Cake at Narccoossee's (another restaurant favorite).

I love your pictures of the Old Faithful Club Level pictures. You are truly making me homesick for our favorite concierge club and our favorite concierge cast members in WDW, not to mention our favorite resort as well. Our first trip ever to Disney was in 2008 and we had a regular room booked with a standard view. When we checked in at the desk the young lady at the desk said, " I see you are all 1st time visitors, we have a little something magical for you." I had no idea. About a minute or two later another cm came down and then asked for us to follow her up stairs so she could check us into our room. Yep, we were upgraded for our entire stay in a woods view, CL room. Disney sure knew what they were doing. We have been to Disney a total of 5 times since then with our 6th trip coming up in June. All of our previous trips have been in CL with 3 at the WL, 1 at the Contemporary, and one at the YC. Now that we have bought into the DVC and the Grand Floridian I'm sure we are going to miss CL. However, I'm sure we will still get our WL fix with staying at the VWL in the future.

Neat to see you were able to have a quick DIS meet with Wood Nymph. It is always fun to meet the person behind the screen name and spend some time with them. Over the past several years I have been blessed to meet some wonderful people here and look forward to seeing them again and others as well in the future.

Oh, I too love the Narcoossee's cheesecake. It will soon be making an appearance in my report. And meeting up with DIS people has been among the highlights of my last four trips to Disney World. I was lucky to meet three new DISers on this trip, plus see two old DIS friends again.

Wow your photos of WL and CL are making me want to stay there! How do you find taking the bus service to MK? For me, if I stay at a deluxe property in the MK area (which I've never done but hope to some day), I want to be on the Monorail track. So I'd kind of ruled out WL, but it is a lot more affordable than the other MK resorts...

I love your cordial glass. How cute! I don't think I remember those from AKL CL.

It's too bad about the cobbler. It sounds like the smores dessert made up for it, though.

Wilderness Lodge actually has two transportation options for getting to MK. You can take a boat or a bus. I mostly use the boat, just for the change of pace, but the bus is fine too. I do agree that staying at one of the monorail resorts is super convenient though. When my kids were young and we spent a lot of time going back and forth to MK, we loved staying at the Polynesian for the convenience of the monorail. Now that that is not as much of a priority, I have fallen in love with the Wilderness Lodge. I still prefer staying at the Boardwalk though because of the location, as Epcot is my favorite park. But as far as the hotel itself, for the price and theming I think the WL wins hands down.

I'm just excited I finally get to see inside BOG. We have a lunch ADR for April (couldn't get dinner). You know how when you go on the DW website, it says, "Which room will you dine in?" For two months, DP has been saying "None of them!" with a sad expression (because the ADRs for dinner have been booked for so long). I'm just so glad now I don't have to hear that four times a day as I'm checking for cancellations.

Congrats on snagging a BOG lunch ADR! I think that dining at BOG is a must-do experience, at least once.

Hi! I found your dining review, yay! Better late than never. You always have such spectacular reports, so thank you!

Hi Li Li! I'm glad you found me. It's great to hear from another former live reporter!

I just have to say how much I'm enjoying your report. By far the most organized, informative, well written report that I've ever read. I am particularly interested because I will be taking my first ever solo trip in May and have been curious to see how others have handled dining alone. I must say that you have put my fears to rest and I can't wait to read the rest!

Oh, you have no idea how good that makes me feel. Thank you so much for the kind words! I'm so glad to hear that you found my dining report encouraging. I hope you have a great first solo trip!

 

[jabead]

Once Sue (Wood Nymph) and her DH boarded the Magical Express, I boarded a different bus...one to my favorite park, Epcot. Today I was headed toward World Showcase on a mission. Surprisingly, though I had been at Disney World for nearly a week at this point, I had not yet tried one single thing from the Food & Wine Festival booths. I was very much looking forward to my first tastes from this year's festival and even more so because I was supposed to do this with my DIS friend Linda (Linda67) and her DH. They were to dock that morning after their Disney cruise and then spend the next week at Disney World. We had made many plans together for the week, including a Reserved Table at the Party for the Senses at the end of the week. Having not yet heard from her, I decided to make a small detour at Spaceship Earth...









I then decided that I should go ahead and eat lunch, as I had dinner plans with another DIS friend at 7:30 and wanted to have enough time between meals to get hungry again. So I forged ahead on my own...




Let's take a closer look at what I tried, starting with something from the Scotland booth.





Here I chose the Seared Sea Scallop with Spinach-Cheddar Gratin and Crispy Bacon...





This turned out to be a great first choice, as it was really tasty. I'm usually not the biggest fan of scallops but when they are combined with bacon, spinach and cheesy goodness then sign me up for their fan club.



Next was a visit to Hawaii...





...for something that I enjoyed during my last visit to the Food & Wine Festival in 2011, the Kalua Pork Slider with Sweet-and-Sour Dole Pineapple Chutney and Spicy Mayonnaise.





This was again good, just as I remembered it.


My next stop was the new booth of Patagonia...




I had already tried both the beef skewer and empanada from the Argentina booth of previous years, so I decided to try something new...



Roasted Verlasso Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Arugula Chimichurri

This was another winner!


So I was 3 for 3 and considered stopping there, but decided I had room for one more booth...




I couldn't decide between two of the items on the menu so ended up getting both the...



Shrimp Taco with Fried Shrimp with Pickled Habanero Pepper and Red Onion on a Flour Tortilla


...and something for dessert, the Sweet Corn Cheesecake.




While the taco was good (I really liked the chipotle sauce), it was the cheesecake that was the surprise winner of the afternoon. From the graham cracker crust, to the sweet cheesecake filling, to the dollop of whipped cream and dulce de leche topping, I thought this dessert was delicious.


Having still not heard anything from Linda, I was beginning to worry. Later while I was at the Wilson Phillips Eat to the Beat concert...



...I received a text from Linda's DH and learned that my worry had been justified. Linda was injured while on the cruise and was now in the hospital. By the end of the week she was well enough to fly home, but all of their Disney World plans had to be cancelled. I was feeling so bad for Linda, as I knew how much she was looking forward to her week at Disney World. I was also sad that I would not be seeing her and her DH, as it had been nearly a year since I had seen them. Feeling pretty low at this point, I nearly got up and left in the middle of the concert. But then, as if on cue, they began singing my favorite Wilson Phillips song, "Hold On"...

"Don't you know things can change.
Things'll go your way.
If you hold on for one more day."


The lyrics of this song are so encouraging and inspirational. I took the wonderful message to heart, and for the rest of my trip I tried not to focus on this very disappointing turn of events or think about my family problems that I left behind at home. I was, after all, in my Happy Place. What better place to temporarily forget my troubles... "break free from those chains and hold on for one more day"?

​

Next up: Dinner at La Hacienda