Ten Days of Disney Dining!

[andrabell]

Ten days of Disney Dining!

Who: Me, Andra 36
Dear Husband, Rob 38

Where: Walt Disney World

When: November 24th thru December 4th

Why: Because we like you! M-O-U-S-E

We originally booked a room only reservation with the AAA discount. When the package discounts got released, we were able to add on the dining plan for a whopping total of $160. Now this was an offer I couldn’t refuse. Our package was for 8 days, the first two nights we stayed off-property and paid out of pocket for those meals. And now for the reviews…

Thanksgiving Day:
I booked the Fantasmic Dinner Package for our opening night’s entertainment. Our ADR was for 4:10pm. We arrived at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 3:40pm and were seated 5 minutes later. This was our first time here and it is certainly impressive, especially for a restaurant inside a theme park. It’s spotlessly clean and beautiful.

We both ordered the Thanksgiving meal. The starter was Oyster and Brie soup finished with Champagne, Chives and Lemon Aioli.

Oh my goodness, this was delicious. Smooth as silk with an earthy and tangy Brie bite. I got three plump oysters in my soup. Our main course was the Roasted Breast of Turkey with Green Apple Cornbread Dressing, Acorn Squash, Mashed New Potatoes, Haricots Vert, Cranberry-Orange Relish and Natural Pan Gravy.

I enjoyed everything on the plate except for the turkey; it was a bit salty with hard edges. Rob enjoyed his meal as well, but found the turkey very salty as well. We didn’t have the Thanksgiving dessert, which was White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pumpkin Seed Brittle and Pomegranate Sauce. Rob chose the Brown Derby Original Grapefruit Cake, Light Layers of Yellow Cake with fresh Grapefruit Cream Cheese Icing.

And I selected the “Happiest Celebration on Earth” Orange-Chocolate Impression of the Stunt Show Spectacular with Pinot Noir Reduction.

Both desserts were fantastic. The cake was light as air and the citrus bite was sweet and sour perfection. The mousse was deep and dark with intense orange flavor, wonderful! Our waiter, Carlos, was very professional and we didn’t have to wait to have our bevies refilled.

Total Cost: $83.46 with tax. Paid for with Disney Dollars that I got for my birthday and the Disney reward dollars card. A $20 was left for Carlos. He did a great job. We got excellent seats for Fantasmic! I highly recommend the package, a great value all around.

Friday November 25th: Snackies and Drinkies around the World!
We arrived at World Showcase for opening and started our World Tour of Snacks.
We shared a Palmier from Boulangerie Patisserie and a Kir (Chardonnay and Crème de Cassis) from La Mode Francaise.

This pastry was to die for. Light, sweet and buttery. The Kir is going to be a staple in our home this holiday season. Crème de Cassis is on the shopping list. The server at the wine bar filled that cup to the very top, I had to lean over the counter to sip a bit out in order to carry it. I’m classy.

Next we shared a Tangierine cocktail from Tangierine Café in Morocco. Yummy. Very, very yummy and quite potent. I wish I had one right now.

On to Yakitori House.

We shared a Kaki-Age (vegetable and shrimp tempura), an order of Tokyo Sushi and a Kirin draft.

This was Rob’s first sushi and he really liked it.

Everything was really good and sitting outside on such a gorgeous day was sublime.

We then had egg rolls and plum wine in China after visiting with MuShu and viewing the Wonders of China film, which is fabulous. I think I need to get a bottle of plum wine in, it’s scrummy.

On to Mexico for a Fiesta Margarita, which was like delicious, grown-up, Slush-Puppy.

We circled back around again and hit the UK for fish and chips from the Yorkshire County Fish Shop and a Woodpecker cider. Rob is from England and he was pleased with the authenticity of the fish and chips. “Proper chips,” was uttered between bites.

On the way out of Epcot later that evening, I got my first Mickey Bar. Gah, sooo gooood! Although I needed Maalox Max when I got back to the hotel.

The grand total for the day was $61.03, the Mickey Bar and the Margarita were paid with cash and the rest came off the Disney reward dollars card.

 

[andrabell]

Saturday November 26th
Today we checked-in at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and so started our Disney Dining Package.

For lunch we visited the Old Port Royale food court and split a buffalo chicken sandwich, fries, soft drink and Mickey rice-crispy treat. The food wasn’t that great, but it’s fast food, I wasn’t expecting gourmet.

One counter service coupon: $12.01

On to Kona Café for dinner.

I booked this place for one reason and one reason alone, the Kilauea Torte. Our ADR was for 6pm; we arrived at 5:30pm and were seated shortly after checking in. I don’t think I’ve ever dined at a noisier restaurant. Dear me, what a racket. There is no atmosphere, just noise. But we’re here and I want that molten chocolate cake, dammit. For starters, Rob had the Pot Stickers- Wok seared Duck Dumplings with a Creamy Ginger-Soy Sauce and Pickled Cucumbers.

I had the Crab Cakes- Pan seared Lump Crab Cakes with Asian Tartar Sauce and Pineapple Relish.

Rob enjoyed his pot stickers; I thought they had too much five-spice powder, ick. The pickled cukes had lots of pickled ginger, excellent. We both thought the crab cakes were superb, sweet and tender crab with an herb salad, again with lots of pickled ginger in it.

For his main course, Rob selected the Char-Crusted Medallions of Filet Mignon served with Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, Asparagus and a 5-spiced Mushroom Demi-Glace.

He cleaned his plate. I selected the Macadamia Mahi-Mahi served with Mushroom Risotto, Sautéed Bok Choy, Lime Buerre Blanc and Crispy Fried Onions.

Oh my, was this good. The fish was fresh and butter. Everything worked so well together, highly recommended. We each had a glass of wine, I had Wynn’s Coonawarra Estate Riesling, Australia and Rob had the Rock Rabbit Syrah California, Central Coast. I should have ordered the Chardonnay that was recommended to go with my main course. The Riesling wasn’t buttery and didn’t have the right acidity to complement the fish.

On to dessert! Rob ordered the White Chocolate Cheesecake

And guess what I had? That’s right, the Kilauea Torte.

The desserts were presented just wonderfully, there was even a tiny tab of chocolate that seemed to be oozing out of the side of my cake, and I couldn’t wait to dig in!

Rob’s cheesecake had no taste and my molten chocolate center was MIA. The cake was bone dry in the center and the cake was overdone and had a burnt chocolate flavor and scent. Oh, the humanity. Had I been paying out of pocket, I probably would have sent the cake back, but we couldn’t wait to get out of there, just too noisy to be an enjoyable experience. It’s a shame, because the food was really quite good. I hold grudges and I won’t be getting over this one anytime soon. Sorry Kona, your pastry chef needs to go.

2 table service coupons: $95.65 all in.
Wine: $18.68 all in, paid for with rewards card.

Sunday November 27th:
This was our Animal Kingdom day and I couldn’t wait to try the Tusker House. It did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the best meals we had on property, table service inclusive. Rob had the chicken sandwich with fries, a large soft drink and a piece of cheesecake. I had the rotisserie chicken meal with the veggies and mashed, large soft drink and the chocolate cake. This was a lot of food. A lot of really, really good food.

The desserts were by far the best of the entire trip. Rob devoured his cheesecake, proclaiming its deliciousness and I couldn’t proclaim anything with a gob full of chocolately goodness. This sponge was deeply chocolate but very light, almost fluffy. The filling/frosting was dark, rich and decadent.

This cake earned a “best chocolate cake ever” seal of approval from this chocolate fiend.

2 counter service coupons: $28.27 all in. Excellent value, excellent food and superb desserts.

Good thing we ate an early lunch as we were off to ‘Ohana for dinner. Our ADR was for 6:40pm and we checked-in a bit early and got our pager. I was expecting delays as the entire area was heaving with people. No worries, I had a Lapu Lapu in my crosshairs. We ordered and as soon as the waitress walked away, the pager went off. We waited for our drinks and then followed the hostess to our table. We were by the window with a lovely view of the lagoon and Castle. We sipped our drinks.

The Lapu Lapu lived up to the reputation!
Our meal at ‘Ohana did not. The food was not good. But our waitress, Crystal was awesome. I got a glob of sauce on my white shirt and Crystal had a cloth and club soda in front of me in seconds flat. She’s my hero.

The “wonton chips” were salty and greasy. We ate one each. The sauces weren’t so good either. I had a virgin Pina Colada that was part of the dining package. It’s one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever tasted. The wings were good, but messy. The shrimp were mushy. The veggies were nice, but no replacement for the crisp and wonderful signature green beans that are gone. The potatoes were good but very rich and greasy. The meats were dry and that sausage, oh my goodness, I don’t ever think I’ve seen anything so repulsive looking, I didn’t even put it in my mouth. The dessert came and if there was any doubt that there are bananas in this dessert, the doubt ends here. The bread had bananas as did the sauce. Bananas permeated the whole dessert. I know this because my Dear Husband despises bananas and he wouldn’t touch it. He ate the glob of ice cream that was on the side. I thought the bread pudding was nice, but I don’t have banana issues.

2 table service coupons: $65.34, if you like gross food and lots of it, I highly recommend this place. Crystal also got an extra cash tip for being my hero.

Lapu Lapu and Sam Adams: $18.50 all in, on rewards card.


Monday November 28th

Today was our day at Disney MGM Studios and that means lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater! This is by far the best themed restaurant in all of Walt Disney World. The food is good, not great, but you just can’t beat sitting in a car at an old time drive-in watching all those film clips. What a treat. Our waitress, Taryn, asked us if we were on the dining plan, this was the first time we were asked at the start of the meal and it only happened twice in ten days. She took our drink orders and said, “When I get back I want appetizer, entrée and dessert orders from both of you.” Oh, dear. I got a chocolate milkshake and Rob got lemonade. I ordered the salad, the Reuben sandwich and the chocolate tart. Rob ordered the chili, the steak sandwich and the hot fudge sundae. My salad wasn’t that good, mostly iceberg lettuce, too hard to digest. Rob enjoyed his chili. I loved my sandwich but didn’t eat many of the fries. Rob wasn’t expecting his sandwich to be open-faced but seemed to enjoy it. The chocolate tart wasn’t good so I ate Rob’s sundae, well just the thick fudge layer. We came for the atmosphere but the food was pretty good. And although we felt totally rushed by our server, Sci-Fi will continue to be a must do for us at Disney.


2 Table Service coupons: $65.63

After spending the entire day at the Studios, we wanted an early, quiet night. We decided to get meals to go from our food court. We went to the grill station and Rob ordered a rotisserie chicken meal with two sides and I ordered the vegetable plate that consisted of macaroni and cheese (my favorite “vegetable” of all time), rice, creamed spinach, steamed broccoli and sweet corn. The plates of food were huge and came with a nice hunk of cornbread. We got bevies and carrot cake and key lime pie. We lit the candles in our room and settled in for a quiet meal. The food was pretty good and very generous but definitely not on par with the meals at Tusker House. The carrot cake was manky, but Rob enjoyed the key-lime pie.

2 Counter Service coupons: $29.12

 

[andrabell]

Tuesday November 29th

Tonight is a special night; we’re attending Cinderella’s Royal Gala at 1900 Park Fare! These piccies will be in the slide show with the trip report. We arrived at the Grand Floridian to have a look at that amazing gingerbread cottage. If you never seen it, you really must. It makes the entire lobby smell of sweet gingerbread spices.

We signed in at 4:30pm and were seated right after Fairy Godmother officially opened the restaurant. Pattie, our server, was delightful. The character interaction was spectacular, especially since Rob and I don’t have kids. Suzy was divine, every time she came by, she hugged me and kissed me on the head, she stole my heart. The food was really nice for a buffet. The prime rib was just right and the red and sweet potato mashed was excellent. The desserts were good too. Perla and Cinderella were there, making the rounds but Prince Charming was MIA, although my own Prince Charming was there and he loved the food as well as the characters.

2 Table Service coupons: $68.02
Wine and cocktails: $54.68 on the rewards card

Wednesday November 30th
Today we were off to Epcot at opening. For lunch we ate the newly restyled Sunshine Seasons in The Land. The place is no longer the haven it once was. Because of Soarin’, The Land is an absolute zoo. We dined early to avoid some of the masses, which was a really good idea. I chose the grilled vegetable Cuban sandwich, a bag of Sunchips, a soft drink and a Butterfinger brownie. Rob chose a Mongolian beef entrée, a soft drink and a strawberry Bavarian.

I love the new selections here and the food is really good, just what Future World needed, as the counter service options have been lacking here. My sandwich was excellent, the bread was so good, I wish there were a place around here that made a sandwich like that.

2 Counter Service coupons: $29.75

Our dinner plans were originally an 8:30pm ADR at Le Cellier, but the idea of dining that late wasn’t too appealing after romping round Future World all day. We went to Spoodles spur of the moment and I was very pleasantly surprised. We got seated straight away.

The restaurant is so pretty, with lots of wood and warm, golden tones. The open kitchen is bustling but the restaurant isn’t a noisy as I thought it would have been. Rob had the Four Cheese Flatbread with Roasted Garlic Puree and Sage for his starter and I had the Mediterranean Dips with Toasted Pita, Marinated Olives and Almonds. This came with four dips and a huge pile of pita, this appetizer would have been perfect for sharing with 3 or 4 people. Both starters were excellent. I had the Oak-Fired New York Strip with Sweet Potato Fries and Horseradish-Chive Cream drizzle

And Rob had the Oak-Fired Salmon with Roasted Vegetable Stew.

Rob enjoyed his fish and proclaimed the “stew” more like ratatouille. I loved my dinner. NY Strip is one of my favorite cuts of meat and this couldn’t have been any better. Very lean and flavorful, cooked a perfect medium. After having my entrée, I really didn’t understand any of the bad reviews I’ve read of this place. For dessert, we ordered the sampler to share. What a great choice, every place in the world should do a sampler for dessert. The selections were the Vanilla Crème Brulee (awesome), the homemade pistachio gelato (yummy), the White Chocolate-Orange Cake (really nice), the Chocolate Apricot-Pistachio Cake (oh, dark bittersweet and sinful) and a biscotti (didn’t get eaten).

This was the only other time we ran into an issue with the dining plan. Our server got a little confused over our being able to have the sampler, but his manager sorted it out and we were on our way.

2 Table Service coupons: $87.29 Don’t be scared off by the bad reviews, this place has really good quality food. I’d go back again.

Thursday December 1st
Today we are going to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We slept in and had breakfast at the food court. No wonder people complain about standing in long lines, they’re all still in the food court at half ten in the morning. We had coffee, Rob had a bagel sandwich and I had stuffed French toast with a side of bacon. Not bad.

2 Counter Service coupons: $18.59

We had dinner at Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn and Café. I had a really yummy burger and fries. Rob had the wrap, which was ginormous. Rob had chili instead of dessert. I had the dessert, no surprise there.

2 Counter Service coupons: $26.35

Friday December 2nd
Rob slept in and I shopped. I had a coffee drink at Ghirardelli, a white chocolate latte. After shopping, we visited Coronado Springs and split a fajita platter at the Pepper Market. The food was good, but they’re quite restrictive about the dining plan. Only the regular sized drink was offered, where all the other places offered the 32-ounce sized and only a cookie or a muffin could be selected as dessert.

1 Counter Service coupon: $17.19

We headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at Jiko. We got there a bit early and had the pleasure of seeing feeding time for the giraffes. It’s such a beautiful, serene hotel, we’d love to stay there some time. We got seated as soon as they opened at a nice table at the back. Our server Tiffany was very knowledgeable about the menu and the wine list. We selected a bottle of Delheim Gewürztraminer

And Rob had a Tusker beer. The seedy bread with Tandoori spiced whipped butter was a great way to start off.

We shared the sampler appetizer, which we both made light work of. It consisted of Duck and Pork Firecracker-Hot Spring Rolls with Hoisin Sauce and Jicama-Apple Slaw, Lamb Patis-Pulled Lamb rolled in Phyllo with Mint-Cilantro Chutney, Lentil Pastilla-Lentil-filled Phyllo Pockets with Sweet and Sour Sauce and Maize and Sweet Potato Tamales-Herbed Maize Pudding and Truffled Sweet Potato Mash with Shredded Goat Cheese in Corn Husk Boat. One thing better than the next, with the tamale being my favorite. Rob favored the Firecracker. Sorry, no piccie. It didn’t last long enough.

Rob couldn’t decide on his entrée, he was really put off by the “macaroni and cheese” that accompanied the filet. I was not, I ordered the Wood-grilled Filet Mignon with Macaroni and Cheese and Red Wine Sauce.

Rob finally decided on the Berbere-braised Lamb Shank with Toasted Couscous, Baby Spinach and Berbere Sauce.

Rob’s lamb was fatty and he does not like couscous, so it really wasn’t the dining experience he was hoping for. On the other hand, I loved my meal. The filet was excellent though Spoodles NY Strip just edged it out for flavor. The macaroni was just lightly coated with cheese, rather than being smothered in a cheese sauce and the red wine sauce was sheer perfection.

When it was time for dessert, I was very disappointed to find that the famed Tanzanian chocolates were no longer on the menu. I chose the “Expedition Everest” Sundae-Caramelized Banana “Split” with Three Ice Creams: Vanilla, Amarula, and Chocolate with Chocolate-Amarula Sauce, Roasted Peanuts, Whipped Cream Peaks and Chocolate Wisps.

I picked this because I love Amarula http://www.amarula.com/. Rob too was disappointed by the dessert offerings and selected the Cranberry and Roasted Quince Napoleon with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Apple Cider Reduction.

My “sundae” was a bust. The banana was under-ripe and the ice creams were grainy. Rob thought his dessert too tart, but ate the cinnamon ice cream. I loved the tart cranberry-quince combination. It was the clear winner of the two.

I was most looking forward to this meal and left feeling slightly less than satisfied. I don’t think it’s worth the double the dining coupons that they charge. The atmosphere, food and service were no better than that of Spoodles or any other place we dined at this time around. Citricos, on our last trip, far outshined Jiko for Signature dining. Next time, we’ll be back at Boma.

4 Table Service coupons: $121.48
Bar tab: $58.84 that finished off the rewards card nicely.

Saturday December 2nd

Magic Kingdom morning. Pineapple Dole Whip was first on the agenda and well worth the $3 out of pocket, as good as ever.

Lunch at the Tomorrowland Noodle Station was not good. I had the chicken noodle bowl. The broth, veggies and noodles were fine, even better when I doctored it up with some hot sauce, but the chicken was dark meat, hard and gamey. I plucked it all out. Stick with the vegetarian options here, people. Rob got the chicken rice bowl and found out that it didn’t sit well with him. The chicken was not fresh. Again, beware of bad chicken here. The potsickers were hard as rocks, but the chocolate dessert was pretty good. I can’t recommend this place. Go to Cosmic Rays or Pecos Bills, they won’t steer you wrong.

2 Counter Service coupons: $31.12

Our last night was, of course, spent at Epcot. We dined at Les Chefs de France and the place was packed to overflowing. The servers were rushing about and the place was extremely noisy. This was a slow, relaxing French bistro dining experience, so decidedly un-authentic. I started with the warm goat cheese salad

And Rob had the soup, I’m a bit vague on the details as our guest check wasn’t itemized this time and this is the only place that I didn’t take a menu (don’t judge me). We both had the same entrée, the filet in puff pastry.

Rob likes his meat medium-well and I like it medium. Our steaks were rare and cold. Not good. The pastry tasted good and the green beans were nice and crisp. I had the Crème Brulee and Rob had something with strawberries or apples. He also had a glass of wine. The Crème Brulee was worth the price of admission.

Like Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way.

Our last 2 Table Service coupons: $102
One glass of wine: $9.25

Sunday December 4th
Now it’s time to say goodbye… sadly we’re checked out, packed up and on our way. We stopped at the food court for breakfast and to use up the last of our snack credits.

Last 2 Counter Service coupons on an $18.59 breakfast, same as the other morning and 11 Snack coupons for a total of $26.78. The other 5 Snack coupons were on bottled water at various parks for a total of around 10 bucks.

$853.18, the package was certainly worth waiting for. I had $300 on my Disney Visa Rewards card plus $40 in Disney Dollars that easily covered the $327.44 worth of out of pocket dining expenses. And that’s the sum total of our first dining package experience. The dining plan is fairly flexible and very generous. There are definitely inconsistencies that very from place to place, but in a place as large as Disney, that’s to be expected. The service was really good, overall and we were very pleased about that. It was a wonderful trip and I’ll post the link to our 207-picture slide show with some random trip thoughts in the trip reports forum. Thanks for looking!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reviews ~ Thanx for posting.

Lovely piccies.

 

[Steamboat Girlie]

I'm getting hungry!!!!!!!!!
I want gemelli!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DreaminDisney]

Great reviews and great pictures! Thanks for posting!!!

 

[Laurin612]

Great reviews, O Wise One!

You've inspired me to write reviews for my trip!

 

[bugbugmom]

Wonderful reviews...they really had me laughing. I especially enjoyed your pictures with the drinks. My kind of relaxing vacation

 

[John's Mom]

Thanks for posting. I really enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

[3princesses4us]

Wow! You managed to combine two of my favorite things: reading trip reports and getting to look at the food! Loved it. Thanks for taking pics of some of the restaurants too! We share at least one thing in common, I'm going to Kona strictly to try the torte. So sad to hear yours was dry. Anyway, fantastic reviews.

 

[Belle5]

I really enjoyed your review and pics! Thanks for posting! Actually, LeCellier rarely gets negative reviews on the DIS. I don't know if you were getting your negative review information about it from a guide book ???

 

[andrabell]

I really enjoyed your review and pics! Thanks for posting! Actually, LeCellier rarely gets negative reviews on the DIS. I don't know if you were getting your negative review information about it from a guide book ???

You may have misread. We really wanted to go to Le Cellier, but the reservation time was just too late for us. We decided to go to Spoodles instead. I've read lots of mixed reviews of Spoodles here on the Dis.

And thanks everyone for your comments. It was a great trip and I wanted to share.

 

[Nancyg56]

I enjoyed your entertaining reviews. I always enjoy food reviews, and love checking out the pics, so yours was the best of both worlds! Thanks for taking the time!

 

[jmatias]

Great report and pics! We are still thinking about the dining plan for our next trip so I love reading your report.

 

[LiteBrite]

Great reports, Andra, thanks so much. I felt the same way about my Kiluea Torte at Kona Cafe as you did - dry cake with a too-small portion of unmemorable hot fudge sauce in the middle. If I hadn't had a scoop of very good vanilla ice cream with it, the cake would have been way too dry to eat. As it was, I still only finished about half of it. I was so disappointed with this dessert.

 

[dtaylor98]

Loved your reviews and pictures!

 

[kupperman]

Thanks for your reviews! Loved the pictures too!!

 

[paslea_pooh]

What does it taste like.... I've never had it and followed the link to their website. I'm not sure if they sell around by me. But the coctail recipes looked yummy. Will add it to my bar if I can locate it.

Thanks for the pics and reviews, I really enjoyed them.

 

[Belle5]

You may have misread. We really wanted to go to Le Cellier, but the reservation time was just too late for us. We decided to go to Spoodles instead. I've read lots of mixed reviews of Spoodles here on the Dis.

And thanks everyone for your comments. It was a great trip and I wanted to share.

Yup! I misread--skimmed a little too quickly! Somehow my eyes jumped from LeCellier and skipped past where you mentioned switching to Spoodles.
I have given Spoodles a few bad reviews myself. Nice to see that you had a good meal there!

 

[aviva5675]

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