Our 10 day road to getting plumper -> Disney Style! *Updated & Completed*

[kelleigh1]

I had the tuna at Columbia Harbour House last year and it was really good. I was just coming down with a cold and was hungry, but with a sore throat, not much looked good. I don't ever order tuna when I'm out, but that was about the only thing I could imagine eating that day and I'm very happy that I did.

Wolfgang's was a regular for me. I'd gone there are few times when my friend still lived in Orlando. It became a regular lunch spot for us. When hubby and I were at WDW last year, I took him and it didn't disappoint. But I agree about the service when not ordering drinks. We almost never order alcohol, and I do recall that the service was less than stellar after we just order iced tea and soda.

 

[KatGarcia]

It was the last day of 2006! I was thrilled! If you read my main TR you know I lost my mom and step father this year and it was all around a lousy year but it was almost over and we were in Disney!!! AND we get to have breakfast with Stitch! I made this ADR because last time DH didn’t get to see Stitch and he’s a HUGE fan, I even had a shirt made for him for Xmas to wear today. The food was average breakfast stuff but the potatoes were really tasty and the POG juice was beyond good. DH was obsessing over it and still plans to make some at home. I like how at almost every breakfast we had the potatoes were slightly different. We finished our first big plate of food and most of the plate of fruit and got a 2nd one (it was smaller than the first) which is pictured here…

The character interaction made it worth it by far! They were so funny dancing together and being silly when they ran into each other. It was so much fun!

On the way out of the Poly I realized I could get a cup of REAL coffee so we stopped at the Kona Counter for some coffee. I was so excited I made DH take a picture!

Here’s a tip from my TR because I think it was an awesome thing to learn!
** When the woman came around with the pictures I tried again (first time was at Chef Mickey’s) to get the photo pass number on them to add to our photo pass. We had little luck most of the trip with finding people to take pics of us together so we utilized the photo passes as often as we saw the photographers. The cast member from CM flat out told us we couldn’t have the number unless we bought the package. This cast member, however, told us a little know awesome fact- you can go to any photo pass store and get them to look up your social event pics and add them to your photo pass!!! All you need is the date and time of the event! Obviously when you have an ADR the time and date are easy to come by. So we tested this out at the Epcot photo pass place as we walked in. It took about 3 cast members to get them but it is possible! They have all the pics on file and once found they were a breeze to add to our photo pass card! We got our Chef Mickey’s and our Ohana pics! Love that pixie dust!!!**


We spent that afternoon in The World Showcase. We had intended to spend the whole day out without a break so eventually late that afternoon we got hungry. We decided to try the Tangerine Café. Wow was it crowded! It was New Years Eve after all. We shared a Chicken and Lamb Shawarma Platter. Sorry no pics, we had a heck of a time finding a seat so we ended up holding the tray between us sitting by the fountain. It was a nice place to sit and eat tho. The food was great. I really liked everything on the plate. It comes with like 3 different sides and all were yummy. We cleaned that plate and somehow I shared the awesome baklava with DH. *giggle*

Just for the record we did go back to Pop that evening and had no issues getting into Epcot via the International Gateway that night. I thought we’d have a hard time but it was a breeze. We went straight to Marrakesh and checked in at 8pm. I feel so bad for those girls working there! They had no pager system and when they were looking for a party of people they were wandering around calling their names! Their system stunk! We got seated at 8:30pm. DH was fascinated by the hand carved walls and ceiling. Our server once he heard we were on the plan suggested the Royal Feast. The menu is slightly different than the one I saw online, BTW. We both went for it as it made choices that much easier. We planned on getting some drinks around the countries later so we had sodas with our meal. Again we felt kinda dissed for being on the DDP but it was NYE and all.

First was a tomato type soup, I forget the name. It had a lemon wedge next to it and once u put the lemon juice in it was really tasty! It came with a small beef bastilla (half pictured on the side of the plate, sorry I was hungry) that was tasty with the powdered sugar on it.

(From left to right) Lemon Chicken, Veggie Cous Cous and Lamb Shank. They were all tasty and I’m def not much of a lamb person. Both meats fell off the bone and were very juicy. I was rapidly learning NOT to feel bad not finishing everything on my plate and left some room for dessert. DH cleaned his plate!

The different kinds of baklava were delish! I really enjoyed them and stuffed myself too much by finishing them all. So much for leaving food…

We enjoyed the music they played and the belly dancer was fun. DH was dancing in his seat and almost went up there to dance, it was hilarious!

I really liked this place and would give it another go when it wasn’t such a busy day to see how it is. The atmosphere made for a cool place to have our New Years Eve dinner.

Ohana Breakfast OOP $45.45 (with tax and tip)
Kona Coffee OOP $2.12 (with tax)
OOP Totals: $47.57

Shawarma Platter $13.95
Drink $2.39
Baklava $2.50
Feast at Marrakesh X2 $38.00
Today’s Totals: $94.84

 

[KatGarcia]

This was our last day at Pop. We were switching to Coronado Springs this morning. We slept a little late and got ourselves over to CSR around noon. After a room mix up and settling into the right room we checked out The Pepper Market. I have to say this is my favorite counter service meal in all of WDW! We ate here I think 4 times and I loved every bite of it! We had lunch here after a little exploring so we had left the camera in the room. Our first CS lunch from PM was: Both were from the Mexican counter. I had the lunch special of Salmon with guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce and onions AND rice and beans. I had a cherry coke in my mug and got an apple juice for later and HUGE Danish for dessert. DH got the steak fajita platter which came with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and grilled steak AND rice and beans. He also got a juice to go along with a huge pecan cinnamon roll. So good, I even almost finished this colossal portion!

I have to say I have heard mixed reviews from people in regards to the Pepper Market but I really love it. The system is odd at first but it’s so easy and stress free. We would just get one card for us both and I would decide what I wanted and get my card stamped and the hand off the card to DH and we’d meet back at the table at about the same time. We also had the refillable mugs so we tended to get our drinks ourselves. I think it’s simple and easy with no trays to carry to the cashiers. The value is tremendous.

We headed to DTD that afternoon because we had many snack credits burning holes in our Disney pockets! We ended up using our 6 remaining credits at Goofy’ Candy Co. Almost all of them were souvenirs so we haven’t any pics of them either. We got 4 mickey head rice crispy treats, 2 for us and 2 for our house/cat sitters. We also got a piece of fudge and a cookie for later. This place is awesome for extra credits, I highly recommend it! But be warned those crispy treats take days to eat because they are huge and sweet. We had a few last CS credit as well to use and we decided to get a sandwich from Earl of Sandwich. DH was dying to try this place because he’s a sandwich nut!

As you can see it’s not the biggest sandwich ever. We got “The Full Montagu”. Roast beef with some sauce on it. I liked it. I can’t believe we actually ate it but we did. Nothing like being on vacation and being a pig! LOL! We saved the brownie with the rest of our sweets for a late night craving.

We considered Wolfgang Pucks Express for dinner later that night (much later I assure you, we aren’t eating machines you know) but I was kinda tired so we opted to go try out another meal at the PM for the convenience of it. We used our last 2 Cs of this part of the trip here.

I had the pasta with wild mushroom gravy and chicken. I know it looks a little funky but I forgot the pic until after I mixed it all together. It was yummy! I actually took some of it back to the room with me in hopes of eating it later in the week but it ended up in the trash. Too much food is just too much food sometimes.

DH had the special burrito with steak and chicken and everything else thrown in there. He got in good with the guy behind the counter, all talking in Spanish to him, and got a bigger meal than I saw anyone carrying and that’s saying something! We both got cookies to take to the room and some little milk to go with them.

Steak Fajitas $12.95
Salmon Special $13.95
Juice X2 $2.39
Danish X2 $2.50
Rice Crispy Treats X4 $3.00
Cookie/Fudge $2.50 each
Full Montagu $5.75
Drink $1.75
Brownie $1.95
Burrito $10.95
Pasta $9.95
Milk X2 $1.29
Cookies X2 $2.00(?)

Today’s Totals: $80.66
DDP Credits Used: 5CS, 6 Snack Credits

 

[2BusyPlanning]

I am enjoying your trip report! We are looking forward to staying at Coronado this September. What was your take on the resort? ANd what kind of room did you have? It will be our first time there. I can't wait to hear more!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent ~ Really enjoying

 

[rolshuk]

Thank you so much for the photo pass tip,that could save us a lot of money as I cant resist photos of my dds but they are so expensive!

 

[KatGarcia]

Thank you so much for the photo pass tip,that could save us a lot of money as I cant resist photos of my dds but they are so expensive!

It was the best tip I learned the whole trip! It may take a really patient CM to find them but as long as u have the approx time it is in their system!!! I was so excited! Thanks for readin!

I am enjoying your trip report! We are looking forward to staying at Coronado this September. What was your take on the resort? ANd what kind of room did you have? It will be our first time there. I can't wait to hear more!

We loved the resort. It was peaceful and tranquil and really felt like a getaway within the vacation. The grounds are beautiful and we could ahve spent hours walking around. The dig site is so cool too, it has everything u could need even a place to refill your mugs! we had a king room on the first floor in casitas. I highly recomend this resort to everyone! BTW there was a convention going on and it didn't even bother us one bit. I hope you love it!

 

[50 years Too!]

Kat,

Loving your food report.
I make the "ghetto mocha" at DW also! It's awful having a machine with nescafe instead of a barista isn't it!
I've done this in Mexico, too. Have even resorted to a Hersey bar, milk and coffee. I'd die without my daily mocha.

 

[Disneymoon]

Thanks for all the great reviews!

It was great to see photos of the food at Marrakesh. We are eating there for the first time this trip!

 

[dawgfan]

Thanks for the review.

 

[angelmav]

Loved the reviews!

 

[KatGarcia]

Waking up in a moderate has just proved to me that I am spoiled and in need of real morning coffee! I had brought some of my own coffee with me (some flavored brand I got a sample size of) and I was ecstatic to make it! It really is nice to wake up and have the coffee in the room instead of blindly going to the food court for some. I def made a decision that if we stay in a value again that I will be bringing my own coffee and coffee maker for sure. We had our leftover gigantic Danishes for our nice leisurely breakfast.

AK day. We definitely under utilized this park last time and ate NO food there, so this turned out to be a good day! We got there not too long after opening so by around noon we had done a lot and were hungry. I was interested in eating at Tusker or Flame Tree but Flame Tree BBQ was closer so it won out. It was pouring so I sent DH to pick 2 meals out for us to share and went in search of a table. The seating was so cool how it was set back in the trails and all. I went to pray for a seat under the covering and there was a family of about 6 sitting at a bigger table than they needed so I asked if I could grab the 2 end seats and they said yes! They weren’t totally friendly but I had snagged us seats out of the rain…go me! DH returned with 2 CS meals that were just awesome! We shared one Rib and One Chicken combo both with corn and beans. We got key lime pie and chocolate cake for dessert and sprites to drink. I really enjoyed this meal, it was hearty and tasty. DH said he’s not a fan of roasted chicken because he finds it too dry most of the time and he was raving about this chicken! The beans were like dessert, they were sweet and yummy. The desserts were even tasty, esp. for a CS meal.

We were a tad hungry (believe it or not) when we got back to CSR later that afternoon, so we shared a Shrimp and Tuna Salad platter from Pepper Market. For some reason the girl only gave me a scoop of each with nothing else so I had to ask for extra bread since we planned to share, and we were planning on paying OOP for the bread. When we got to the counter the CM told us she wouldn’t charge us for the bread since we didn’t get the whole platter! It was the only semi confusing thing that happened at the PM the whole time and it turned out great.

So we had a late ADR that night @ Raglan Road and decided to make a stop at The Boardwalk for some beers at Big River Grille since it was the only chance we’d get to visit the Boardwalk. At first we tried to sit outside but the wind was a little too chilly and we moved into the bar area. For some reason when I asked the bartender what their sweetest beer was he directed me to the Sweet Magnolia Brown Ale, which was good but not as sweet as I would have liked. I like some beer but I prefer my alcohol to be sweet tasting. The bartender seemed less than thrilled for me to taste a few types when I was trying to figure out what I wanted. DH has a Red Ale and enjoyed it. After we left I saw a sign for the winter ale which sounded better to me than mine and I was sad that I wasn’t offered it! Anyways, on our way to checking out The Beach Club Resort we stopped in The Boardwalk Bakery for some snack credit usage! We got a banana split cake and a cheesecake brownie to take back to the room with us. The guy at the counter was funny too because he didn’t believe us that the banana cake was a snack credit even tho it had the little snack credit logo on it! He actually came out from behind the register to check, it was amusing!

We checked out the awesome chocolate carousel at The Beach Club and hopped on a bus from there to DTD for dinner. We made it at exactly 8pm to Raglan Road, the time of our ADR! They asked us if we minded a few minute wait, and we were in no hurry so we said sure! Turns out it’s because they wanted to give us the awesomest (it’s a word if I say it is lol) table in the place!

I can’t tell you how great this seat was and how I needed a comphy seat so bad! It was so romantic! We could hear the music in the main room just loud enough to enjoy it and not be overwhelmed by it. We decided we deserved some cocktails. I had a chardonnay and DH had a Guinness. He was THRILLED to have a real Guinness on tap!

We shared the scallop forest for our appetizer. Is it me or did it lack the forest part? I thought it came on forks?? I was saddened about it a bit. But it was yummy! The tarter sauce was tasty too.

And the Guinness and honey dipping sauce for the soda bread was INCREDIBLE! We swear we will recreate this at home, it was that yummy!

I had “Paddy’s Pork” w/ greens and mashed potatoes.

DH had “Heavenly Ham” also w/ greens and mashed potatoes.

I def liked mine but the ham was so tender it was silly! The food def exceeded my expectations and we would def go back again. I’d never hear the end of it if I denied him Guinness on tap! LOL!

Dessert was Bailey’s Crème Brulee and Banoffi Beauty (bananas and cream and caramel).

We def over tipped here and we didn’t really find much excellent service other places to add an extra tip, but this was too great not to! The drinks only cost us about $12 bucks and we tipped the server and extra $5. Great experience and has now got us hooked on Irish Pub places all over!

Totals:
OOP- 2 Beers $5.50 Each =$11.08 (with tax) Plus $4.00 Tip
Guinness $6.50/Chardonnay $6.00= $12.50 Plus $5.00 Tip
Total- $32.58

BBQ Chicken $7.99
BBQ Ribs $8.99
Drinks X2 $2.39
Desserts X2 $2.79
Tuna Salad Platter $8.95
Juice $2.39
Pastry $2.50
Bakery Cakes X2 $3.99
Scallops $12.95
Ham $16.95(?)
Pork $16.95(?)
Desserts X2 $6.99

Total $109.99
DDP Credits Used: 3CS, 2TS

 

[KatGarcia]

We decided today was a relaxing day cause I just couldn’t imagine getting up early again!! I felt so much better waking up and not rushing around! I made some of the Disney coffee, I forget what the brand is on the package. It’s not half bad if you make it 2 times as strong! LOL! I like my coffee with some kick so I made half the pot with one of their pods and it was pretty good! DH went and got us some breakfast to share. We had a breakfast skillet from the Mexican Station. Thank god we shared this thing it was huge. It had potatoes and bacon and sausage and eggs and cheese all mixed together and even came with a biscuit.

I had pretty much planned out the rest of out CS meals so we decided to each get something of our own here and if we didn’t finish it, oh well, at least we tried! I opted for something lighter which turned out to be a huge portion I couldn’t finish anyway!

My Chef’s Salad with ham, cheese, olives, salami and turkey. It was a really good salad. I expected it to be good but it was really very filling and fresh and tasty. The CM made it as I stood there and added whatever I wanted on it.

DH wanted some thing regular he said. After trying to get new things all week everywhere we went he wanted a simple lunch. He had a double bacon cheeseburger with fries from the grill station.

For desserts I had a rice crispy treat and DH had a Danish. We snacked while we waited for the bus to the parks.

Tonight was my most anticipated mea, Le Cellier. DH was not too thrilled at the sound of it but he told me to make the ADR and he’d deal.

We got smoothies for drinks. I had the chocolate raspberry and DH had the mango. He couldn’t stop saying how yummy the mango was! I loved mine tho!

I had the cheese soup…note the pretzel bread on the side! I love this!!!!! I was so looking fwd to this soup and it was no let down!

DH had the crab & salmon timbale. It sounded good but we didn’t know what to expect. DH said it seemed to need some crackers or something to spread it on but it was tasty. The filling was nice and creamy and the fish wasn’t fishy at all.

I had the mushroom filet and DH had the Maple filet. Both were cooked to perfection and just about the best steaks I’ve ever had!

I had the crème brulee sampler (continuing my theme) DH had S’mores. He still talks about how silly the plate looked, esp. compared to mine, but he liked it a lot. The colored sauces were some kind of mango he said. Maple crème brulee had to be my fav of the trip!

This is worth a visit to anyone esp. if you haven’t been yet! The décor is nice and homey. I have heard many reviews about it being cramped and it was a bit cramped but I think you can make the best of any situation and we just tuned out everyone and enjoyed our meal.

Totals-
Breakfast Skillet $6.75
Chef Salad $8.95
Burger Special $8.25
Drinks X2 $2.39
Desserts X2 $2.50
Smoothies X2 $3.99 (?)
Cheese Soup $4.99
Salmon $11.99
7oz Filet $26.99
Mushroom Filet $27.99
Desserts X2 $5.99

Today’s Total: $125.65

DDP Credits Used – 3CS, 2 TS

 

[KatGarcia]

This was our last ful day so we explored the World Showcase for most of the day. We decided on some lunch at Yakatori House after trying for Yorkshire Co Fish Shop but it being closed because it was too early. We had 2 CS meals and shared them, even tho DH was reluctant to share his! These were the last 2 CS credits we had.

The Tokyo Roll and Combo of teriyaki beef, chicken, rice and shrimp tempura. We had Sprites and a Choc Chip cookie and a piece of ginger cake for dessert. Def a good CS. The portions were kinda small but it was yummy none the less.

Since the portions at lunch were small we were still kinda hungry and once we reached Norway we knew what we had to have…another school bread, of course! We still had a few snack credits left so DH got us a school bread and asked the CM what else sweet she recommended and she suggested the cinnamon roll. DH is a big fan of these and he was a happy camper!

We had a fairly early ADR at Coral Reef so we could spend the evening doing whatever we hadn’t done yet on this trip since It was our last night. We were early for the 5:15 ADR but checked in anyways at about 5pm. We were seated maybe 20 minutes later.

This was the one meal I was leery about since it got so many mixed reviews. I had always wanted to try and eat here so we went for it! I liked the food and have no real complaints but I prob won’t go back, just because Epcot has so much food to try. The tank was awesome and we had a great time just fish and diver watching!

I had the crab claws and DH had the Seafood Soufflé. The crab claws were delish! I love seafood and really didn’t have too much of it on this trip so I was happy for at least one meal with seafood. The soufflé was awesome and DH loved every bite of it. They were nice size portions for appetizers, esp. after eating too much all week.

I had the Blackened Cat Fish (kinda spicy but still good). I asked the server how spicy was it and she said not too bad. Folks, it was pretty spicy! I don’t mind spicy sometimes but woooo…I had to mix it with the grits to even out the flavor of the spice but the fish was well cooked albeit spicy.

DH had the Mahi Mahi. He really enjoyed this. I probably should have had this as well looking back but oh well. He’s not too into fish except for basic stuff but he loved this dinner.

For dessert we had a Chocolate Wave and The Butterscotch Brulee. You can never go wrong with the chocolate wave!!! Yummy oozing chocolate goodness. DHs favorite dessert of the trip. The brulee was yummy. I love me some crème brulee but someone remind me there are other desserts in Disney to try next time lol. I’m crème brulee-ed out!

Today’s Totals:
Sushi Tokyo Roll $6.99
Combo $6.99
Ginger Cake $3.99
Cookie $2.99
Drinks X2 $2.39
Cinnamon Roll $2.79
School bread $2.49
Drinks X2 3.99
Crab Claws $9.99
Soufflé $9.49
Catfish $20.99
Mahi $25.99
Desserts X2 $7.99

Total: $121.44
DDP Credits Used – 2CS, 2 TS

 

[KatGarcia]

I was up at 7am. It was our last day and of course I didn’t want it to end! We had a 10am ADR @ 1900 Park fare. I thought our last morning would be great with a good breakfast and some character fun. We were early at 1900 but we were seated fairly quickly. The food was yummy, def a step up from regular breakfast stuff. DH had an omelet made at the omelet station and was thrilled with it. I had a mix of stuff, all of it good. There were a lot of pastry and bagels and cream cheese and stuff like that, things I didn’t find anywhere else. The only thing I thought to take a pic of was the table and the strawberry soup (which was totally awesome btw)…

We had so much fun with the characters! Alice and The Mad Hatter were fighting when they walked by each other and The Mad Hatter was teasing Pooh! Tigger was so funny, he was making messes of people tables and throwing things and he even poured me some coffee!

The Characters were just awesome and the pics came out great…

It was a great start to our last day, it def got our spirits up.

We headed to the Magic Kingdom, which is our last day tradition, knowing we had until about 4pm to enjoy Disney. After a lot of rides (the crowds went down CONSIDERABLY) we headed to The Launching Pad and Auntie Gravities to use up our last 4 snack credits (*tear*) on a sweet and a spicy pretzel, a Cappuccino Float and a Root Beer Float. Again no spice for me, but DH liked it and I was in love with the sweet one! The floats were great on the hot day and yummy to boot!

Today’s Totals:
Buffet Breakfast X2 $18.99
Pretzels X2 $3.79
Root Beer Float $3.49
Cap Float $3.19

Total $ 52.24
DDP Credits Used 2TS, 4 Snack Credits

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Final Totals:

OOP Total- $129.60
Food Totals – (as per prices off Disney menus) $899.36

DDP 39.00 Per Person/Per day = Approx $780.00

Difference = $119.36

Does that make sense? I think the DDP is an awesome idea because we saved a lot more than just the 119.36 because if we hadn’t done the plan we would never have gotten as much food for the value we got. I think it well worth the money and def will do it again. It makes your dining seem extra special and sometimes extravagant, something every vacation needs. Yes the DDP is a ton of food, but well worth the price of the plan to us.

I learned a lot about planning a good Disney trip. Since we did the split stay I thought it helped me figure out how I wanted to use my credits for the DDP. We ended up paying for 2 breakfasts OOP in the first half of the trip and cancelled the other OOP meal we had planned for during the second half of the trip. As we are def people who like to have sit down meals, having one planned every night wasn’t always so good. It was relaxing to not have to figure out where to go by way of your ADRs a few days at least.

Anyways that’s all from me folks… lemme know what you think and thanks for reading and drooling over the yummy food with me!

 

[The Sweetness]

Fantastic reviews and pics

 

[tammydel]

Loved your reviews - I really enjoyed reading them because you have a great way of focusing on the positive. While you let us know about those moments/foods that weren't your favorite, you didn''t harp on them, nor did it seem to dampen your enthusiasm.
You and your DH look very happy - glad you had a great (dining)trip! I'm off to read your trip report!

Tammy

 

[jess98ac]

Thanks for the great review! We're eating at a couple of the same places in May so I was glad to see pics.

 

[swankybeth]

Great reviews, I really enjoyed your report. Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

[luciloo]

Great reviews and great pics, thanks for posting.