Too much food ?!?!?!? Is that really a thing? A Deluxe Dining Report. ***Complete***

[Candycane83]

love your reviews! I'm very much looking forward to Cali Grill brunch and Skippers Canteen now!

ETA: didn't know you could get poached lobster on the side!!

 

[Mich123]

Great reviews! I just logged onto MDE to see if I could book the California Grill brunch. That lobster looks amazing and that sushi station looks delish!

 

[RedskinFan]

For dinner we took advantage of our Boardwalk location and went to Captain's Grill. I started the meal off with a Captain's Mai Tai which went down very smoothly! The bread service was good but nothing special.
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For appetizers DH chose the Buttermilk Fried Rock Shrimp while I went a little lighter with the Farmer's Market Salad. They were both very good.

For our entrees I was tempted to get the snow crab legs but went with the Tagliatelle Pasta instead. It was delicious although the noodles were a little al dente for my taste but I still managed to clean my plate. DH got the Cabernet braised short ribs were he thoroughly enjoyed! The corn risotto that came with his meal was excellent too.

For dessert I had the cheesecake while DH got the seasonal cobbler which was peach if I recall correctly. I was relieved when I saw the cheesecake wasn't a large portion! I was pretty full from my meal and the cheesecake was the perfect size to end my meal with a little sweet without pushing my over the edge.

We had really good service from our waiter at this meal. Up to this point, we seemed to be losing all our waiters once our entrees were served. It seemed to take a long time to get dessert and the checks but he was attentive but not overbearing the entire meal which was nice.

 

[vettegirl]

Oh my Captains Grille looks amazing! I have only been for breakfast, the food was great but the service was terrible.

 

[kastoney]

Wow, yours is the second review I've seen recently about dinner at Captains Grill. Similar to the wave, it looks like one of the places quietly upping their culinary game. Definitely on my radar for an upcoming trip!

Oh and i gotta ask since you're redskin fan are you in the DC area? We are but despite my fathers best attempts to make me a skins fan, I'm a die hard Steelers fan

 

[GoofyGirl1717]

I am throughly enjoying your report. All of the pictures have been great!!!

 

[basketlacey]

Great reviews so far! That CG brunch looks amazing!

 

[RedskinFan]

After dropping our Tiffins reservations, we ended up needing to use 10 TS credits in our last couple of days so I decided to burn a couple at breakfast at BOG. DH and I have separate MDE accounts so we ordered our meals individually in hopes of getting two pastry trays since we clearly hadn't gotten enough to eat during our vacation I don't know if it's because we sat together or used the same dining plan to pay for our meals, but we sadly only received 1 pastry tray to share.

We both ordered the same thing, the open faced bacon and egg sandwich. We've been to BOG for breakfast on prior trips and that was our favorite entree by far. As you can see from the pictures, the egg was a little more done then it should have been but it was far from hard boiled.

[GALLERY=]

We had scheduled Le Cellier for lunch with the thought that Jeff would use 2TS credits but I would just order the poutine which I've been wanting to try but we decided the night before to change it to a reservation at Coral Reef. We wanted to make sure we weren't too full for our California Grill Dinner reservation that night. DH had a great meal at Coral Reef in June and wanted to see if I'd enjoy it as much as they did.

The rolls and butter were nothing fancy but were tasty. Heck the butter didn't even have salt sprinkled on it! We got seats just a table for two away from the tank which was nice.

Jeff got the charbroiled octopus which was good but not nearly as good as my Crispy Rhode Island calamari! I was nice enough to share a few pieces with DH but scarf downed the rest in no time!

DH got the Seared Mahi Mahi as his main course while I went for the seafood scampi. He enjoyed his fish and didn't have to share since I'm not a fan of mahi mahi. While the mussels were over cooked and dried out, the shrimp and scallops were very tasty in my dish. The noodles had soaked up a lot the scampi sauce and were so delicious! It more then made up for the nasty mussels.

For dessert I went with the chocolate wave while DH had the turtle cheesecake. We both loved our dessert picks.

As we were waiting for our check the strangest thing happened. A woman and her young son (4-5 years old?) got into the booth next to us. They had just cleared the table from the previous occupants. They came over by themselves which was kind of odd. Then she motions over a nearby hostess and in a very think accent tells the poor hostess that her son had found this table and really liked it so they were just going to sit there. Could she please go out into the waiting area and grab her husband and bring him to the table? The hostess tries to tell her that she needs to go out and get him but the lady insists that she can't leave her young son alone so the hostess will have to get him. They went back and forth for a few minutes and eventually an older looking gentleman comes to the table and sits with them and the waitress goes over and takes their drink order. As we were leaving the restaurant, Jeff overhead the girl tell the other CM's at the podium that the family had sat themselves! How crazy is that! I get that Disney doesn't want to cause a scene but that was so unfair to the many families that were patiently waiting their turn out in the lobby.

 

[RedskinFan]

love your reviews! I'm very much looking forward to Cali Grill brunch and Skippers Canteen now!

The Cali Grill Brunch is pricey but definitely worth every penny spent!

ETA: didn't know you could get poached lobster on the side!!

I have to admit that I saw that on someone else's dining report and I figured that the worst that could happen was she could say no. The lobster was divine!

Great reviews! I just logged onto MDE to see if I could book the California Grill brunch. That lobster looks amazing and that sushi station looks delish!

You will not be disappointed!

Oh my Captains Grille looks amazing! I have only been for breakfast, the food was great but the service was terrible.

It was refreshing to get good service throughout the meal. We also got surprisingly good service at Coral Reef. Our waitress was given a very large table while we were eating our appetizers so I was worried we would be forgotten but that definitely wasn't the case.

Wow, yours is the second review I've seen recently about dinner at Captains Grill. Similar to the wave, it looks like one of the places quietly upping their culinary game. Definitely on my radar for an upcoming trip!

Oh and i gotta ask since you're redskin fan are you in the DC area? We are but despite my fathers best attempts to make me a skins fan, I'm a die hard Steelers fan

I was born and raised in Silver Spring but moved to the Baltimore Suburbs about 15 years ago. Even though I am in the heart of Raven's Nation, I am and will always be a Redskin's fan at heart.

I am throughly enjoying your report. All of the pictures have been great!!!

Great reviews so far! That CG brunch looks amazing!

It was amazing!

 

[Candycane83]

Nice review on Coral Reef! It's another one on our list! I'm now thinking of upgrading our entire trip to DxDP even though I know it's too much food!

Crazy about the lady that sat herself down... It's sad that Disney cannot control these people and that they get away with it because the CMs do not want to cause a scene.

 

[RedskinFan]

Since we didn't really do any quick service lunches or dinners, I was actually starting to crave the house made chips that often come with sandwiches. I love potato chips and housemade thick chips are my favorite. On our walk back to our room after lunch, he noticed that Promenade Refreshments served House-made Ranch Kettle Chips. So although I was really full from lunch, I still managed to put away every last chip.

And since I had eaten a snack, DH hit the boardwalk bakery and got himself this little beauty to eat in the room.

I made our July 4th California Grill dinner reservations right at the 180 day mark because I wanted to be able to watch the special 4th of July fireworks without having to fight with the crowds at Magic Kingdom. While at brunch the previous day, we were told we could come back that evening and watch the fireworks from the restaurants viewing platform. We just had to show them the receipt from our meal. I was worried that with the brunch and dinner patrons allowed to watch the fireworks, the platform would be packed with people. I am claustrophobic and need my personal space so we decided to just wait. Which ended up being perfect because we had an awesome view of the fireworks from our seats!

I started the meal off with a passion fruit margarita (At least I think that is what this drink is! We were given complimentary champagne with our meal and I ordered a second drink which I didn't get a picture of because I may have been a little inebriated after the first two drinks ). This drink was much stronger then I thought it would be and less fruity so it didn't go down as smooth as I was expecting. The bread service was definitely a notch above what we'd been getting at the non signature restaurants. I really enjoyed the focaccia which was buried under the rolls in the bread basket.

For our appetizers, we both went with sushi. I got the California Combination Roll while DH got the Spicy Kazan Roll. We both enjoyed our sushi and it was definitely a notch or two above what we had eaten at Tokyo Dining.

I was really starting to get full so I wanted to get something light for dinner. So I ordered the Seafood Ramen. Which started our really good but then the spicy took over and that's all I could taste. No where in the description did I see spicy listed as an adjective for this dish. DH ordered the Wagyu Beef Strip Loin which he said was beyond amazing! I think that was his favorite entree from our trip. It was that good!

As we were finishing our entree's, people were starting to head towards the viewing platforms. We were fortunate to be able to see everything from our seats but that also meant throughout our meal we had adults and kids enjoying the view from behind our table. It was a little distracting but not unexpected.

The fireworks were absolutely amazing. I grew up going to the fireworks on the mall in DC every year with my family so I've seen really good fireworks displays and Disney's definitely rank up there with the best of them.

After dinner, our waiter did a vanishing act. It took forever to get our desserts ordered, delivered, and the get the check. I ordered the Chocolate Pudding Cake while DH ordered the Butterscotch Creme Brulee. My pudding cake was delicious but the best part of my dessert was the house made meringue kisses and marshmallows. DH said his dessert was also really good.

Overall the meal was very good. I would definitely order differently if we were to have dinner at the California Grill again. I would be adventurous with my appetizer choice and not repeat my ramen order! But you can't beat being able to watch the fireworks from your table! Although their brunch was definitely a much better experience for us.

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

I have a question:

I also asked for the butter poached lobster that you can get with the eggs benedict and a side of bacon.

Did they charge you extra for this?

 

[RedskinFan]

I have a question:



Did they charge you extra for this?

No, we weren't charged extra

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

No, we weren't charged extra

I booked a brunch there!!!!!!!

 

[RedskinFan]

The next morning was sadly our last. We would be flying out on the last flight of the night back to good old Baltimore. While I was packing I asked DH to grab us some pastries from The Boardwalk Bakery while he went and got our caffeine fixes for the day. I requested either a chocolate almond croissant or just plain chocolate croissant. I ended up with a plain almond croissant. The croissant was good but I was looking forward to my chocolate fix!

When the trip started, I had an early O'hana dinner scheduled but midway through the trip we both decided we didn't want to eat there because with that amazing bread pudding we always end up leaving feeling ridiculously over stuffed! I had deliberately left the dinner and lunch plans open because I didn't know which parks we'd feel like eating at. Our flight was at 8:55 pm so we figured we'd need to be at the airport by 6:00 so we could return the rental car and get through security which meant eating dinner between 4-5pm which also meant having lunch between 11-12. We spent the morning in Magic Kingdom so I perused what was available at the Magic Kingdom resort restaurants and we both decided we wanted to give Whispering Canyon Cafe a shot. Neither one of us had ever eaten there and the menu looked good.

DH started his meal with a milkshake. He ordered Strawberry but ended up with chocolate for his first drink which I forgot to take a picture of. I drank 3 regular sized sodas before our waitress brought my super sized drink. Which was the sum total of her antics which was fine by me. I told DH he wasn't allowed to ask for ketchup. It was fun to watch the other waitresses do their thing though.

For appetizers I ordered the Gold Rush Western Chips thinking that they would be potato chips but I was wrong. They were tortilla chips but not just your ordinary tortilla chips, they were addicting! I couldn't stop eating them! I even packed my leftovers up to eat at the airport! DH ordered Duck Pot Stickers which were delicious. The waitress had asked DH if he liked duck when he ordered them because they do have a very strong duck taste which is what I liked about them. I don't like pot stickers but these were amazing.

For my entree I wanted something light since I knew in a few hours we would be eating again. I had a hard time deciding so I went with the waitresses recommendation of Chuckwagon Chopped Salad. It was a very good chopped salad although in my regular life I would never order that type of salad so I'm not sure what made me think I'd like it. DH made a much better decision with the Chopped Bison Burger which he ordered medium rare. I don't know if its because this was the first burger either one of us had eaten all week but that sucker was soooo good! This was the first and only meal that we didn't finish our food. I guess we finally learned our lesson ?!?!?!?

Neither one of us was really hungry for dessert but that's never stopped us before! Again nothing really stood out to me so we just ordered what the waitresses suggestions which was S'mores Creme Brulee and Campfire Style Gooey Cake. They were both solid suggestions although DH and I both preferred the cake.

 

[RedskinFan]

After lunch we headed over to Animal Kingdom to ride Expedition Everest and get one last safari ride. So for dinner we grabbed an early Boma reservation. A little before 4:30 our paged went off which was odd since we weren't the first to check in. The CM asked if we would be ok with being the family of the day. We happily agreed. The family of the day gets a certificate and is the first family seated which was nice. Unfortunately for us, neither one of us was really hungry. It was so early to be eating. If we had known our flight was going to be delayed 2.5 hours, we would definitely have eaten later. We both got jungle juice and were given a champagne for our anniversary. And since this was a buffet, I did a terrible job at taking pictures.

Our family has always enjoyed our meals at Boma and I definitely think it's one of the better buffets on property. And as much as I wasn't really hungry, I was able to feel like I got my money's worth by getting a few bites of my favorite items. We've learned to just get small portions when we eat at buffets so we don't get nearly as full as we do eating a three course meal. Being members of the clean plate club is not always easy!

 

[RedskinFan]

I read over and over again that the deluxe dining plan is too much food. This is actually the third time we've purchased the deluxe dining plan and in each situation I would have to disagree with that statement. For this trip I never would have ordered the appetizers and entrees that I chose because I would have looked at the prices and chosen a cheaper option or just skipped the appetizer or dessert. And we wouldn't have eaten at The California Grill twice! We also used 5 nights of credit for 6 full days of eating which certainly helped. We did have a difficult time using all our snack credits but I don't mind having Disney candy around the house to remind me of our trip! There were a couple of occasions that we were both uncomfortably full but that could have been prevented if we both had stopped eating when we were full instead of feeling the need to eat every last morsel on our plates.

We also went deluxe last September with the kids and with all the character meals we made out like bandits because the dining plan's cost for kids is so cheap! We also thought that DS would be ordering off the adult menu more then he did. And it killed me to use two TS credits at the Brown Derby for a kids hot dog meal on our last night when he insisted he didn't like anything else on the menu.

I hope you have all enjoyed my report! I can't believe it only been 10 days since we got back from our trip! It seems so long ago! But lucky me gets to return in two short weeks for a Mommy/Son weekend trip where we will be using the Quick Service Dining Plan. If I can remember to take pictures, I'll be sure to write my second dining report.

 

[NMPensFan]

Thanks for your report. We are doing deluxe on our next trip and can't wait for all the restaurants we would never do regularly because of the price. I think the dxddp is a great savings if you use it well like you did!

 

[DisOrBust]

So someone posted a question here if the Zebra domes are still on the buffet. Did you see them? I live in fear that they have gone the way of the Oreo Bon bon!

 

[RedskinFan]

So someone posted a question here if the Zebra domes are still on the buffet. Did you see them? I live in fear that they have gone the way of the Oreo Bon bon!

They were still on the buffet! I'm not a fan so I didn't get any. As I recall there were two varieties.