The Incredible Expanding Women - 14 days on the DxDP ~ COMPLETE!

[MrsB1228]

Hello everyone and welcome to my third dining report! This is a tale of two sisters who take on the World (Disney, that is) and the Deluxe Dining Plan during two weeks of WDW fun. We had a wonderful time and got to try many restaurants that were new to us. I believe we tried every Signature except one, and returned for a second visit to another. We had some incredible meals, some pleasant surprises and one experience that we both agree we'll never do again. This was our first time using the Deluxe Dining Plan, and I have to agree with those who say it's too much food, LOL! We found that it worked pretty well when we only had two meals a day, for instance a breakfast or early lunch followed by dinner between 7 and 8 PM. The days we tried to do three meals we felt overwhelmed by food. I also found we didn't relax at the resort as much as last time because it seemed we were always on our way to the next ADR. I'm glad we tried it, because it gave us the opportunity to try the Signatures and discover new favourites, but I wouldn't do it again. The regular DDP is perfect for us.

For those of you who read my last DR, you'll recall that I visited last year with my hubby for our 30th anniversary. I booked this year's trip on a bounceback offer before we left and my DH (greatest guy EVER!) encouraged me to make it another girls-only trip and visit with my sister Nancy. Nancy and I vacationed at WDW in 2011 and had a fabulous time so we were both looking forward to returning. Here we are with two friends you may recognize ...

I took lots of pictures using either my iPhone or my Sony Cybershot. I'm no photographer but I think you'll get an idea what each dish looked like.

I hope you'll join me as I relive our Disney culinary adventures!

​

 

[MrsB1228]

*Reserved for restaurant links*

B=Breakfast L=Lunch D=Dinner

House of Blues (L)
Raglan Road (D)
Via Napoli (L)
La Cava del Tequila (Drinks)
Le Cellier (D)
50's Prime Time Cafe (L)
Hollywood Brown Derby (D, Fantasmic Package)
Yak & Yeti (L)
Jiko (D)
Raglan Road Sunday Brunch
Citrico's (D)
Food & Wine Festival Booths
Hoop De Doo Musical Review (D)
Riverside Mill (POR) (L)
California Grill Part 1 Part 2 (D)
Kona Cafe (B)
Liberty Tree Tavern (L)
Chefs de France (L)
Another Food & Wine Festival Selection
Yachtsman Steak House (D)
Crystal Palace (B)
Kona Cafe (L)
Citrico's (D)
Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory (POFQ) (L)
Flying Fish (D)
Grand Floridian Cafe (B)
Be Our Guest (D)
Restaurant Marrakesh (L)
La Hacienda de San Angel (D)
Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory (POFQ) (B)
Mama Melrose (L)
Artist Point (D)

Various Snacks

Final Thoughts and Favourites ~ Part 1 and Part 2

I'll be rating the restaurants based on a simple numerical scale of 1 - 5. 1 being the worst and 5 the best. Each dish will be rated as well as the restaurant overall. I will note my sister's rating if it differs from mine; if you see only one number, it means we agreed on the rating.

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[bonzarella]

signing on

 

[MrsB1228]

signing on

Thanks for joining in, great to have you aboard!

 

[emmysmommy]

Definitely I'm joining in!! I see a lot of great places - in fact some of my favorites! Hmmm... I wonder which one you won't do again??

 

[JMBB216]

I am subbing (this is all new to me - first post - hope I am doing it right).

 

[MrsB1228]

We touched down at MCO at approximately 10:15 am and headed directly to the Magical Express. We joined a long line for French Quarter and after a 10 minute wait, we boarded our motor coach and were off. Ours was the third stop after Old Key West and Saratoga Springs and we arrived at French Quarter around 11:30. Check in went quickly as I had already checked in online a few days before. Our room wasn't ready yet so we left our carry-on luggage with bell services and headed to Downtown Disney for lunch. We had a 1:15 reservation at the House of Blues.

We were there well before our reservation time, but being seated early wasn't a problem as the restaurant wasn't that busy.

After looking over the menu for a few minutes, we were ready for our first Disney food of the trip.

For our appetizers, we chose:

Cornbread with Maple Butter - jalapeno peppers and cheese.

This was good, but quite sweet and very heavy for an appetizer. We barely made a dent in it. 3/5

Voodoo Shrimp - sauteed jumbo shrimp, simmered in an amber beer reduction and served on top of jalapeno cornbread.

We obviously didn't read the description well enough because we certainly had more than our fair share of cornbread, LOL! This was delicious and the clear winner in the appetizer category. 4/5

On to the entrees:

Jambalaya - marinated chicken, spicy andouille sausage, sweet peppers and roasted green onion in a traditional jambalaya sauce.

This was Nancy's choice, she enjoyed it and said it was very flavourful. 3.5/5

I chose:

Lobster Mac & Cheese - Maine lobster meat in a creamy cheese sauce and topped with crunchy panko breadcrumbs.

This was my choice and I have to say I wasn't blown away by it. I like lobster and I like mac and cheese but I don't care for them together. I guess I'm a purist, LOL. They certainly weren't stingy, there was lots of lobster meat in there, but much of it was very rubbery. I'm a texture girl and something like that will turn me off very quickly. I give it 2.5/5 because the mac and cheese was very good, creamy and cheesy.

For dessert, we both chose the same thing.

Key Lime Pie - made with fresh key lime juice and drizzled with a fresh raspberry coulis topped with fresh whipped cream.

Now that's what I'm talkin' about! This was delicious and we both give it 4/5.

Overall, House of Blues gets a 3.5 from both of us. Service was fine, our server was very friendly and kept our water glasses filled which is very important to us in the Florida heat. Would we return? Maybe sometime in the future, but there are a lot of other Downtown Disney restaurants we'd like to try first.

Up next: Dinner at Raglan Road​

 

[RGirl]

Joining in!

 

[starousse]

Joining in too. I can't wait to hear all of your reviews. What a great lineup!

 

[MrsB1228]

Definitely I'm joining in!! I see a lot of great places - in fact some of my favorites! Hmmm... I wonder which one you won't do again??

Hi Brenda and thanks for joining in! I know you've enjoyed some wonderful meals in some of the restaurants we visited, and I now understand why some of them have the loyal following they do. As to which one we won't repeat ... stay tuned.

I am subbing (this is all new to me - first post - hope I am doing it right).

You did it perfectly and I'm so glad you decided to join in!

 

[MrsB1228]

Joining in!

, so glad you're here!

Joining in too. I can't wait to hear all of your reviews. What a great lineup!

Thanks so much for joining in!

 

[emmysmommy]

You're kicking this off with a place we've never tried. I'm a cornbread lover for sure so it sounds good but it does look huge.

I'm a lazy shrimp eater and like for the tails to be removed if it is anything other than a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp dish does look tasty with the tomatoes.

I've not had lobster mac & cheese but I am rather like you and know that I like the traditional version without lobster wreaking it.

At least dessert was great!

 

[disneymom06]

Looking forward to your reviews. We are headed down for the holidays and many of your choices are our choices.

 

[iwasdaisy]

 

[vettegirl]

Wow the food at House of Blues looks great!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

HOB looks amazing. We once did dxdp and it was lovely to have lots of signature meals and shows but by the end of the week I just wanted salad wouldn't stop me doing it again though LOL.

 

[gunner2010]

nice,,,,,,,,,

 

[MrsB1228]

You're kicking this off with a place we've never tried. I'm a cornbread lover for sure so it sounds good but it does look huge.

I'm a lazy shrimp eater and like for the tails to be removed if it is anything other than a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp dish does look tasty with the tomatoes.

I've not had lobster mac & cheese but I am rather like you and know that I like the traditional version without lobster wreaking it.

At least dessert was great!

We enjoyed HoB and were glad we tried it. I wouldn't be adverse to visiting again but I'd really like to try Paradiso 37 and Wolfgang Puck Cafe first.

The shrimp was delicious, that and the key lime pie were the best parts of the meal for me. Nancy really enjoyed her Jambalaya too.

Looking forward to your reviews. We are headed down for the holidays and many of your choices are our choices.

I love WDW during the holidays! Thanks for joining in and I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for subscribing!

Wow the food at House of Blues looks great!

It was good, and a nice choice for our first Disney meal.

HOB looks amazing. We once did dxdp and it was lovely to have lots of signature meals and shows but by the end of the week I just wanted salad wouldn't stop me doing it again though LOL.

HoB was very enjoyable and we're glad we tried it. I'd like to try their fried chicken next time. Someone at a nearby table ordered it and it looked seriously delicious.

LOL, the DxDP is a jaw-dropping amount of food. I know what you mean by just wanting salad after a while.

nice,,,,,,,,,

Thanks for joining in!

 

[babydoll65]

I'm here

 

[MrsB1228]

We never do a park on our first day as we're usually pretty tired from travel. Not only that, but my sister and I are both the type that have to unpack and organize the room before we can do anything else, LOL. Brenda, I know you completely understand what I'm talking about. We received an email during lunch letting us know our room was ready so we returned to the resort and spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and just relaxing.

We took the boat to downtown Disney around 6:30 and leisurely made our way over to Pleasure Island for our 7:30 reservation at one of our favourite restaurants, Raglan Road.

It was a very pretty night, the sky was all golds and pinks. I tried to capture it with my camera but didn't manage to do it justice.

We checked in at 7:15 and were seated at 7:25. The restaurant was very busy and loud. If you're looking for a quiet, relaxing meal, this is not the place to find it, LOL! We love the atmosphere with the Irish band and step dancers, it's a lot of fun.

Right after we were seated, our server came over to introduce herself and asked if we would like to place a beverage order. Why yes, please!

Here's to a great vacation!

We both chose our favourite drink here, the Jai-Gail Sangria, which is a traditional sangria, but made with Magner's hard cider instead of wine. It's delish!!

As we sipped our drinks, we looked over the menu.

For our appetizers, I chose the Salmon Swoon - choice Irish smoked salmon served with capers, shallots and creme fraiche. Nancy selected the soup of the day, which was Tomato Gin. I apologize for the lack of appetizer photos, we were actually pretty hungry and dug right in when they were placed in front of us. Bad, bad Dis'er!!

The Salmon Swoon was delightful!! Tender, thin pieces of perfectly smoked salmon, with absolutely no trace of sinew anywhere. It was a lovely, light choice and I loved every bite. 5/5

Nancy said the Tomato Gin soup was absolutely wonderful. It was a cream soup that still managed to have a light, bright taste (probably because of the addition of gin ) and was served with a house made crisp artfully tucked into the soup cup handle. 5/5

For our entrees, we both selected the same thing (we do that a lot, LOL)

Kevin's Heavenly Ham - Irish mist glazed loin of bacon with savoy cabbage, colcannon potatoes, parsley cream sauce and a raisin cider jus.

Here's another photo:

This was truly delicious! The ham was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the sides were perfect accompaniments. Nancy and I both enjoyed it immensely and give it 4/5.

Dessert time!

I decided to have the same dessert I enjoyed last year:

Fluffy Lemon Clouds - Intense lemon curd tart topped with fluffy meringue. Sooo incredibly good!! 5/5

Nancy chose:

Dundon's Delight - Raspberry pavlova with vanilla pod ice cream and raspberry sauce. Nancy really enjoyed this, but commented that it was extremely sweet. 4/5

Service was very good, our server was attentive without being obtrusive and paced the meal very well.

Overall, Raglan Road gets 4/5 from both of us and we'll definitely return. It's our favourite restaurant in DD.

Up Next: Thursday, September 26/13 ~ Lunch at Via Napoli, Drinks at La Cava del Tequila​