Our 11 Day Deluxe Dining Report With Pics! *Update 5/1 Complete*

[JessicaKnits]

Keep the reviews and pictures coming. Did Tigger bounce by without stopping to pose with you?

No, we were just in a bit of a hurry, so we bounced on out before he got to our table. The character interaction here was definitely great!

Amazing start...love the detail in your food report...can't wait for more

Thank you!

Your Yachtsman experience is horrifying!

But otherwise, this is a great trip report! Thanks for all the details and info! Congratulations to you both also!

Thank you, and I promise, nothing nearly as horrifying as that happens for the rest of our trip!

It is real crab. Not high quality, probably claw meat, but real at least. We confirmed it with our server, who in turn checked with the chef, because my husband has a serious allergy to fish but not shellfish. He has to be very careful about imitation crab, which is just crab-flavored fish, and Disney is one of very few places where he'll eat things like crab dip because they're so food allergy aware/accommodating.

about your Yachtsman experience! We weren't terribly impressed by our meal there, but at least the steaks were good and there was no involved. You would think any restaurant at Disney would have a reasonably acceptable plan in place for dealing with protein spills; it can't be a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence with as many kids as they have in and out.

Good to know! I was actually just going off the fact that the crab in it was like a galactic red, like you would see on artificial crab, and the fact that it just didn't taste like real crab or much of anything at all, but it definitely could have been claw meat.

I had a similar experience at 'Ohana last year except it was a lady in a wheel chair so she wasn't able to get out of the restaurant. The staff handled the "mess" the exact same way!!! Just put a row of towels over it and continued on as tho' nothing was wrong. To this day I gag when I think about it. Now, unfortunately, I have resies at Yachtsman next Tuesday and I pray I'll be able to forget all about your post before then!!!

I am sure that we were just there on an off night. I booked Yachtsman with confidence because before our visit, I NEVER had read a bad review on the place. I'm sure you will enjoy your dinner there.

Puke.

My thoughts exactly!

Sorry to read your experience at Yatchman's. The child told the parents he was not feeling well and did not listen. When we went to 1900 Park Fare the table next to us had a 7yrs old girl and she keep saying to her parents I wan to go back to our room to bed b/c I'm tired from throwing up and I feel its coming back. The mother took the girl to the bathroom and when she came back the father said we paid all this money and we will try to enjoy . As a parent, I don't care how much I spend...I would just take care of my son first and respect the people around me.
I would be upset that the place did not clean it up so you and other customers don't see it or even smell it...really its a restaurant...if I was entering the restaurant and saw it...I would turn around and eat somewhere else, Sorry to you guys had an awful experience especially trying to have a nice dinner.

It really was the lack of clean up that bothered me. Also, there was no one there to mention "Hey, make sure to step around those towels there". Everyone that entered after us walked right over vomit, and thats really disturbing to me.

wow. i'm so sorry about your yachtsman experience. we had the most magical experience there for our birthdays. we even deemed it "the best meal ever"... not just in WDW, but... EVER. Oscar was our server and he was the one of the best waiters we have encountered as well. we're going back in november, and hopefully it's good again--we're going to eat and talk about having our wedding reception there. i guess every place has it's day. we had terrible experiences at lecellier, jiko and narcoossee's. all three of them are loved by most. as for the child... shame on the parents for not listening to their sick little one!!

You're exactly right, this was definitely Yachtsman's day.

Yikes! I hate bad service, it's so annoying when you're shelling out the big bucks for a nice meal and you get ignored like that. Were you there (WDW) at a really busy time or did you just have horrible luck with servers? You got terrible service at YSH and LTT!

Now that I have a baby, I can not stand when people let babies/kids scream in restaurants. It's just so selfish! When DH and I go out alone it takes a lot of work to find a competent sitter. So when we do get to go out we want it to be nice. Sigh.

We were there during free dining, and dined at Yachtsman on 8/22. The restaurant was busy, but not overly so. Right before we checked in, the woman in front of us was able to get her name on the list without a reservation with only about a 15 minute wait. Going into this trip, we definitely realized that we were really entering the Kid's Kingdom, so we tried to book our dinners during the later time, hoping that most kids would be in bed. This theory sort of did and sort of didn't work, depending on where we were.

Wow, I'm really sorry about your Yachtsman experience. It sounds like the restaurant's atmoshphere went from bad to horrible...unfortunately we can't control our fellow diners, but it does appear the restaurant could have handled the situation better.

I also think you received poor service. Having tag team servers probably hurt the situation; one probably assumed that the other was checking in with you about your meal. As soon as the steak came out the second time they should have come over to assess your satisfaction with the quality and doneness.

Two years ago my DH and I dined here for the first time. We ordered the chateaubriand for two. It was very tasty but definetly overdone. (We had ordered medium rare). Now we almost never send food back and the restaurant was quite busy so we decided it was good enough and began eating. About halfway through our dinners our server came over to inquire how everything was. We assured him everything was great (sides also) but said he might want to tell the grill man to watch out for doneness as ours was somewhat overcooked. Well, he took one look, apologized profusely and offered to bring us another. Well, we were half way through eating and said thanks, but its not necessary. Then a minute later the chef comes to our table! He also apologizes and offers another chateaubriand. We were like no its ok, but he insisted! I mean, really insisted! We ended up taking our second $80 entree and desserts back to our villa. They made a wonderful gourmet meal the next night.

What a great story about Yachtsman! The tag team service is really what caused the problems. We weren't really sure what was going on, because it was obvious that neither was training the other. Also, Ben handled us for most of the meal, because Joey usually showed up after Ben had been there, however Joey's name was on the check as our server. Unfortunately, I think the tip that Ben really earned went to Joey.

Have eaten at the Yachtsman once, it was good. Not great, good. Nice restaurant though, and would give it another try.

As a parent of four, I can tell you, accidents happen. BUT, especially for kids say....4-5 and older, surprises rarely happen. There is 'normally' some sort of warning. As a parent, it is our jobs to make sure we take care of the child and even for younger ones, to try and watch for problems. For example, a 3 year old doesn't want a cookie. ALARM BELLS!!!! In this case, there would be NO WAY I would take the kid out. One of us would stay back at the room. That is just life as a parent. As for adults, there is almost no excuse for having a problem in a restaurant.....come on...you are an adult.

What chaps me is that when this happens, it can reflect poorly on kids/parents in some people's eyes. Morons are EVERYWHERE!!!! Young and old. There are those of us out here that are concerned about our kids, AND others around us. I think people are so wrapped up in Disney or eating someplace and having some $ on the line, they don't use common sense. And of course, others are just knuckleheads.

I would bet at Disney though, kids losing their lunch is pretty common. Lots of stomach turning rides, lots of food and treats....add in some heat and................PUKE!

I think your scenario with the family is probably spot on. I definitely understand, especially if they were on the dining plan, that if they didn't eat their meal there, they probably lost out on their credits and those credits directly translate into $$$. I can't directly comment because I am not a parent, but really, they needed to make a decision about whats more important: Getting your 'bang for your buck' or making sure your children are happy and content. And really, I can't imagine their dinner was much fun for them either, so not sure why they just didn't throw in the towel.

How horrible of those parents!!! And to just leave it in the floor.

I do bet that they won't ever doubt their son again when he says he's not feeling well.

Loved your CP pics! We are going to try it on our next trip for the first time!
DH is on a mission to get me to see Eeyore, and that seems to be the best place!

I don't even know where to start on the Yachtsman, so I am going to pretend I never read that

Crystal Palace was fabulous, I could have sat there and sampled all day and never tired of anything.

As for Yachtsman, I think that its best for all of us to move on, so up next will be Day 3 for us!

 

[JessicaKnits]

We started Day 3 off with a bang with a much anticipated breakfast at Kona. We were planning on going to Magic Kingdom that day, so we made a 7:30 reservation, in hopes of making it to MK by rope drop. Should be no problem, right? Not if you have David for your server!

We arrived to the Polynesian by taking the 630AM bus to Magic Kingdom from the Pop, and then monorailing it over the Poly. Even with a delay on the monorail (the train in front of ours had technical issues) we made it in plenty of time and were checked in by 7:20.

When we were seated, we were the only people in the entire place, sort of weird feeling actually! David came right over to us, along with a trainee. She must have been in her first day of training, because David actually started off by explaining how to find out which dining plan we had on our cards. He recommended the Lilikoi juice (not that I would have chosen anything else!) so we both got that as our juice. Adam then got coffee as his second beverage choice, and I went with the Megaberry smoothie. Lilikoi juice was AWESOME! I was really excited to try and make some at home, but for some reason, its really hard to find Guava juice in WI, or at least by us, but I am still working on that. I also ordered the Samoan Benedict and Adam went with the Steak and Eggs. I had read on the DIS shortly before we left that the Samoan had been removed, and I was pretty sad about that, but was pleasantly surprised to see it had returned!

The Somoan - poached eggs with Hollandaise served over smoked pulled pork hash $9.99

Steak and Eggs - A char-grilled New York Strip steak served with two eggs, home-fries potatoes, and biscuit $14.49

In between ordering, and our entree's actually arriving, a group of about 8 was sat right next to us. 4 adults and 4 kids. And that is where the service took a big hit. Even with that large group, it was still just us the larger group and one table next to us, who had a different waiter.

I have to say, the Samoan was delicious. Egg was perfectly poached, warmed through, but the center was still runny, and really excellent hollandaise sauce. The real star of the dish was the pulled pork. It had an amazing smokey flavor, but was wonderfully moist and tender. At first I was a little put off by the greens for breakfast, but they mellowed out the really intense flavor of the pork and hollandaise. A+ on this dish.

The steak and eggs also got a big thumbs up, and Adam said this steak was more tender than last nights steak at the Yachtsman. Ouch. His eggs were also done perfectly. He ordered them over easy.

After we had finished eating, we sat. And we waited. And then we waited some more, all the while with dirty plates sitting on our table. David had made two trips to the big group behind us in the mean time. Now, I think we all agree, that any waiter worth his salt should be able to handle a group of 8 + a group of 2, especially when the restaurant was 90% empty. It was now a little past 8:15 and I was getting antsy, because I really really wanted to make rope drop. Right before I was about to say something, the check finally arrived, but he left our plates. It was now after 8:30 and David still hadn't come to take our check back with our card in it, and I was getting super irritated. I suppose this was a little bit my fault for not just shoving the card in and handing it back to him before he had a chance to run off again. I finally gave in and asked the waiter that was at the table next to us if he would please take our check back and close it out, because we were really in a hurry. He was very kind and gracious, and even took our dirty plates back, without us asking.

David then reappeared and in a really snotty tone said "Sorrrrrry that it got busy guys". And that was it I won't lie, I let out a little chuckle at that. Really? Busy with three tables in the restaurant? It wasn't like we were eating next door at Ohana. I didn't even go there with him. I was too mad that we weren't going to make it for rope drop.

Another real shame as far as service goes, because the food here is truly excellent. Absolutely would not hesitate to eat here again. But if they tried to give me David as a server again, I would request someone else.

Table Service Credits used: 2
Table Service Credits remaining: 48
Total amount covered by Dining Plan: $42.86

Up Next: Are we finally going to get that world class Disney Service? (And Wolfgang Puck Cafe)

 

[JessicaKnits]

I'm not going to lie, when we headed off for Wolfgang's after a GREAT day at Magic Kingdom, I was a little worried. I was getting really really frustrated with the service we had been getting and was beginning to think that Deluxe was not such a great idea if the service was going to continue. But, off we went anyway to Wolfgang Puck Cafe. Irvin was our server. All I have to say is, I Irvin. Maybe I was giving off a disappointed vibe, or maybe he is just always fantastic, either way, he made our day. He had a great sense of humor, and was totally wonderful, start to finish.

We started off right away with drinks. Mango iced tea for Adam. Lemonade for me. I am a major sushi freak, so wanted to know how that was going to work with our plan. I was a little disappointed to find out that only the sushi sampler counted as an appetizer, despite the fact that most maki rolls here are less expensive than the appetizers themselves. No worry here though. I ordered the sushi sampler, and Adam ordered the crab cakes.

Sushi Sampler - 2 pieces of nigiri sushi, 4 pieces of California roll and edamame $12.95

Um...YUM. Super fresh sushi. The tuna nigiri was like butter. Wonderful, delicious, meaty butter. But to die for. The avocados in the California roll were also perfectly ripened, not too firm, not too soft. Overall, a really really great start.

Crab Cake - Sauteed Maryland Style crab cake with marinated tomato basil aioli, garnished with micro greens $15.95

Another great app. Good size crab cakes, loaded with tons of grab. There was very little breading on the inside of the grab cake, which is how they should be! Adam usually isn't a big crab lover, but really enjoyed these and the aioli really complimented them nicely.

Now, for entree's I really should have gotten more sushi, but the salmon pizza sounded really really good, and its not something I can get anywhere else, so I went with that. Sorry about the missing piece, I still wasn't used to taking pics!

Wolfgang's Signature Smoked Salmon Pizza - Dill cream, red onion, chile oil and chives $17.95

The crust was a disappointment, very very dense, and not really soft, or crispy. Everything piled on top made up for it though. A nice dill sauce, that wasn't too overbearing on the dill flavor, if you know what I mean. Wonderful lox on top, and then red onion added a nice bite and crunch, while the chili oil added a nice very mellow heat afterwards. Yum! Something else I am going to have to try to make at home.

And for Adam, Chicken Alfredo.

Chicken Fettuccine - Pan roasted chicken and pancetta in a parmesan cream sauce $19.95

Now, the menu says fettuccine, but this was obviously not. I was secretly thankful for that. Any type of pasta that you have to wind up, and Adam is bound to make a total mess of himself. This was another really good selection. The alfredo had a nice bite to it, but was not overwhelming, and the crispy pancetta went nicely with the soft pasta. The chicken was also moist, well seasoned and had excellent flavor.

For dessert, I wanted something light because I knew I would be getting my fill of them later that evening. I went with the no sugar added cheesecake mousse.

Sugar Free Cheesecake Mousse - With raspberry puree and fresh berries $7.95

I am used to eating sugar free desserts as diabetes runs in my family, and this was really excellent. It was a cream cheese base, that was thinned out with something, maybe sour cream, because it was very light. Added to the cream chese was a lot of cinnamon, which was very borderline with too much cinnamon. They definitely try to compensate for the fact that there is no sugar with a lot of cinnamon for flavor. The raspberry puree was yummy too, but is tart due to there being no sugar.
I will say, if you don't normally eat sugar free dessert, this may not be a winner for you. But it was very light and delicious.

Adam went with

Florida Key Lime Pie - Swiss meringue with a buttery graham cracker crust $7.95

Perhaps I am wrong, but I always thought key lime pie was a really light whipped filling with lime flavoring? This is 100% key lime cheesecake in my opinion. It is not meringue. It was cheesecake base. And a damn good one at that. I stole half of it, simply because I just couldn't set my fork down an stop. Great key lime flavor in the cheesecake and the most wonderful buttery delicious graham cracker crust. So much for keeping things light.

This was a positively excellent meal start to finish. I can't wait to go back!

Table service credits used: 2
Table service credits remaining: 46
Total covered by dining plan: $91.34

Up Next: Wishes Dessert Party!

 

[vinotinto]

Great reviews! I'm so sorry about your YS meal, but thanks for sharing anyways (note to self, if my kids or kids in nearby tables start saying they may be sick, find ways to take action immediately )!

I have a question about the sushi options on WPC on the DxDP...

I was a little disappointed to find out that only the sushi sampler counted as an appetizer, despite the fact that most maki rolls here are less expensive than the appetizers themselves. No worry here though. I ordered the sushi sampler, and Adam ordered the crab cakes.

Now, for entree's I really should have gotten more sushi, but the salmon pizza sounded really really good, and its not something I can get anywhere else, so I went with that.

...so does this mean there's only one appetizer sushi option, but multiple entree sushi options? TIA!

Look forward to the rest!

 

[Jaimiebear5]

Enjoying the reviews! That is AWFUL about your dinner at YS meal. I would think it would be in major health code violation not to clean up better. Any bodily fulid can be a bio-hazzard depending on the person. Probably not with a child, but people never know what made him sick in the first place. I understand Disney is very busy, but when I worked in the food industry and we had something similar happen at our resturant it was mandatory we shut that section of the resturant off and had extensive cleaning procedures we had to do. I am glad you wrote to management, maybe they have a policy in place that was just not being followed. I also feel sorry for the poor kid how embarressing when you keep telling your parents over and over that you are sick and that happens. Hopefully your other meals made up for it. As for the service this is something DH and I are worried about with free dinning. Last time we where there tip was included and service was not the best at times. We are hoping now that the tip is a factor up to the customer it would be better. Looking forward to hearing more of your reviews.

 

[DjdBrit]

Love your reviews and pictures

I have to confess too that my 4 year old threw up in the middle of Sanna, I am still ashamed... VERY ashamed.... After reading the story I do remember that they put napkins on the scene.... Very odd indeed!

And yes I am still ashamed

 

[TravelerGirl]

Subscribing

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on a bit late here but I have to comment on your first review and pic. I am a crab fanatic and I've never heard of that Kinky Crab appetizer at RR. I would be all over those bad boys!

 

[MotherofLandon]

Love your reviews and pictures

I have to confess too that my 4 year old threw up in the middle of Sanna, I am still ashamed... VERY ashamed.... After reading the story I do remember that they put napkins on the scene.... Very odd indeed!

And yes I am still ashamed

My son(4 @ the time) did this at Chef Mickeys
He gave me almost no warning and we were on the opposite side from the bathrooms we had no chance of making it to the bathrooms. I led him over by a window cuz it was as far as we could get from people with no notice. I cleaned it up myself, when I told our cm she said okay and no one ever even went to check it out.

 

[My sister's princess]

That cheesecake your DH had looks amazing. I love cheesecake!


Can't wait for more!

 

[poohangel]

First time we ate at Yachtsman it was great. Last year we went back and it was horrible. All of the steaks were undercooked. My brother ordered his med. rare and I think it pooped and moo'd when he cut it. It was warmed on both sides and that was it. He sent it back and still came back the same way. So we wont be back either.

 

[gardengirl628]

Count me in! Loving your reviews so far. We are going to try Wolfgang Puck in February, and I showed my husband the picture of your sushi. He can't wait!

 

[vllygrrl]

My son(4 @ the time) did this at Chef Mickeys
He gave me almost no warning and we were on the opposite side from the bathrooms we had no chance of making it to the bathrooms. I led him over by a window cuz it was as far as we could get from people with no notice. I cleaned it up myself, when I told our cm she said okay and no one ever even went to check it out.

At least I was "lucky" when my son threw up on me in the World! He was almost 3, and I was carrying him through the Space Mountain gift shop, paying for something at the register when he threw up all over me! The cast members couldn't have been nicer...I helped them clean it up, and then they let me pick out any shirt I wanted!

 

[mcrabeck]

Enjoying your reviews (other than the puke one - looking forward to reading about the rest!

 

[pigletforever]

Can't wait to read more. but I will skip the vomit reviews.

 

[MotherofLandon]

At least I was "lucky" when my son threw up on me in the World! He was almost 3, and I was carrying him through the Space Mountain gift shop, paying for something at the register when he threw up all over me! The cast members couldn't have been nicer...I helped them clean it up, and then they let me pick out any shirt I wanted!

Awl, that was really great of the cms. Vomit+florida sun=
I couldn't image how that would have been had you not been able to change...
Atleast at that age, usually once they throw up they feel better!

 

[Leota]

I think I am enjoying the reviews, but could do without the protein spill stories. The first one was bad enough!

The Samoan at Kona looks sooooo good!

 

[MickeyNicki]

I am in awe after reading your meal at the YM....I cannot believe the parents didnt leave the restaurant with their children, especially a sick one. But more so about your treatment by the castmembers....I would have called the manager over, tell them you lost your appetite from the way they handled the situation and demand they do something about the clean up.

And for you to have to deal with that situation because of them makes me flaming mad. DH and I encountered a problem at FF with a large family and 4 very rambunctious boys....they would not listen to their parents (who were more into drinking than discipline) and the waiters so I loudly said to them "If you cannot control your kids you will pay my dinner bill since you are ruining my meal!" They left about 10 minutes later.

Now onto the food...the reason DH will not set foot in the YM again is because of the rib eye, it was served raw and super bloody, his mashed potatoes were red and that was very unappetizing to both of us. It was so fatty and full of grisle that you could not attempt to eat it.

Loving your reviews, great pics and the details are so helpful! You guys are so cute and it sounds like you had a great vacation!

 

[poohgirl71]

but i would imagine the napkins are used to conceal the "episode" while arrangements are made to properly clean it up. I would imagine that bodily fluids need to be cleaned up in a special way, by someone wearing special protective clothing, at the very minimum, rubber gloves. They certainly do not want to spread any germs and make anyone else

I could be wrong, but when someone vomits at the hospital, we don't just "grab a mop". Hard to say for sure, though, since no one saw the actual clean up of the mess.... Just a guess on the part of this nurse...

 

[princess aleya]

I'm in I never thought about dining here, but might have to give it a try b/c everything you took pictures of look wonferful.