You had me at free QSDP, but D lux is D bomb!! (sorry, no pics)

[GettinReadyforDisney]

It all began with a pin code!!

In late March, we got a pin code for free QSDP and immediately decided we would head to “The World” again. We also knew immediately that we would upgrade it to the Basic Dining Plan, as we are not huge fans of counter service. In fact, we’ve almost always eaten at TS restaurants on our trips (although there are a few CS places we have frequented).

As I began to plan a trip, including parks and dining, it occurred to me that it might make sense to upgrade to Deluxe Dining – giving us a chance to try some signature restaurants – which we have never done, but have always wanted to do. . . . And so . . . for a price increase of $772 over the free QSDP (3 adults and 1 child), we upgraded to the Deluxe Dining Plan – and never looked back!!!

Now that the trip is over, I can say that we do not regret that decision one bit!!!! The food was awesome – at times it was too much food, but we quickly got over feeling guilty about leaving food on our plate and enjoyed the variety immensely!! And, surprisingly -- we did NOT GAIN A SINGLE POUND Of course, we walked ALOT -- and in the June heat, so I guess that helped!!

Sadly, you will see NO PICS in this review. I took tons of pics of our food on our Disney cruise last summer and my entire family was completely over it by day 2 or 3 – they complained that it took too long and the food started to get cold!!! – party poopers!!!!

Anyway – a little about us – DH and I are in our 40’s, DS13 and DD9 (she will soon be 10 so this was the last trip that she will still be considered a child by Disney – boo hoo – I’m not ready for her to grow up!!!). We go to Disney usually once a year or every other year, but despite that – we always seem to have new experiences on each trip!! And this was no exception -- as we have never booked a dining plan and have never eaten at a single signature restaurant!!! But, I say that no more as we have now experienced 4 signature restaurants, and they did not disappoint!!

Here's what you can look forward to (provided I actually finish this darn thing )

Chefs de France dinner
Sci Fi lunch
Jiko dinner
LTT lunch
Kona dinner
Tusker breakfast
Yak n Yetis lunch
Cali Grill dinner
Olivia's lunch
Flying Fish dinner
Tony's lunch
Narcoosee’s dinner
Olivia's breakfast

So -- enjoy the ride, ask away and thanks for listening.

BTW -- you may notice from my new signature that the DVC bug got us while we were there -- just signed the paperwork, and we are soon to be proud DVC owners at Bay Lake Towers!!

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

Our very first ADR was for 4:50 at Chefs de France. My reason for the timing of this reservation was two-fold. First, when I made the ADR, we weren’t supposed to arrive until midday so this would have been perfect timing for our first meal. We ended up arriving the night before so we snacked throughout WS -- but we were still STARVING when we got there.

More importantly, I specifically booked this time so the kids could see Remy.

Before I move on to food – let’s talk about this Remy thing. I kept this as a surprise for the kids – I never even let it slip -- not once!!

Before we got our first course, DD9 and I went to the bathroom. As we walked back to our table, we passed a food cart . . . JUST AS THE HANDLER WAS RAISING THE PLATE COVER TO REVEAL . . REMY!!

DD9 gasped and looked at me with wide eyes and proceeded to immediately blab to DS13. Then, we waited, and we waited and we waited. I finally asked our waiter when Remy would arrive at our table, as we had seen him earlier. Our server regrettably informed us that Remy was already gone~!!!!! WHAT?????

I booked this time specifically, I explained. I was assured that he would come back out, but he never did.

Our waiter did take our camera and get a picture of Remy in the kitchen, but that was it.

I’m not sure why Remy never made it our way. We were seated in the sunroom area, on the side (the left side if facing the restaurant) overlooking the sidewalk where Belle, Beast and Marie come and go. So, maybe you don’t want to sit there if you want to see Remy???? This was disappointing, to say the least, but luckily the food made up for it . . . so stay tuned for Installment II!!

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

Yes, we were disappointed that we didn't see Remy, but the food really was fabulous.

Our Server was great -- attentive and helpful (I do not remember his name; he had only been there for 3 months, but he did a great job) He served baguettes quickly. We had not had lunch, so we were starving but I don't think that affected our thoughts on the food.

We all loved the baguettes – they were warm, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. We ate quite a few of these!!

Appetizers – DD9 had the kids Cheese Puff Pastry – she loved it and shared a bite with the rest of us – it was excellent! DS13 had the Cheese Plate, which he shared and we all enjoyed. DH had the bleu cheese salad, also wonderful. I had the Alsacian flatbread, which I thought would be enjoyed by all after reading reviews here – but the kids really did not like it – I think it was the onions, which were a little strong. DH and I both loved it.

DD9 had the child’s pasta with sauce and loved it. She commented quite a bit at how yummy the tomato sauce was. DS13 had the brochette; he loved the shrimp but said the fish and scallops were a little “fishy,” and so he didn’t eat those. DH ordered the duck and really like it. I ordered the Steak – it was cooked perfectly, the potatoes were yummy, as well, and the petite green beans were loaded with garlic and simply delicious.

For dessert, DD9 had the kids sundae, which she enjoyed. She had the Sundae at nearly every meal so I won’t mention it in future installments (except for those times where she got something different)!! DS13 loves the crepes at the booth in France and decided to order the apple crepes – He liked them but I think he was a little disappointed, as they were not quite as good as the ones at the booth. DH ordered the crème brulee; we were both surprised that it was cold – where we are from, it’s served warm. It was good,but we would have liked it more if it was ward. I chose the Sorbet. It was kiwi, coconut and mango – loaded with big, yummy fresh blueberries, blackberries and strawberries – this became my “usual” dessert for the week (so much so that my family started calling me “sorbabe”!!!!). I eventually grew tired of sorbet as my dessert because so many of the flavors available were the same. The coconut was my favorite!!

Overall, Chefs de France was surprisingly good.

Honestly, we weren't expecting to like it as much as we did. DH and I agreed that we MUST do it again on the next trip.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Joining in. great start and can't wait to read more

 

[honeybunches]

Great review on Chefs, we wanted to try it but were a little nervous about it.

 

[vettegirl]

I love your title it's so funny

 

[GettinReadyforDisney]

Thanks to those who have joined in . . . and so it continues!!


This was our second full day and turned out to be an odd day – DH ended up having to fly home for work -- thank goodness we were in Orlando -- because they have lots of options for flights back and forth to New Orleans (we live just 30 minutes north of N.O.) So, he flew out 9 a.m. and we picked him up at the airport at 7 p.m.

Back to our day -- We met my DSIL and DNiece at DHS and they joined us at Sci-Fi for lunch (they pd cash and we used our DXDP).

We had never been to Sci-Fi and I must say that we all loved the atmosphere. As others have said, it’s great during the heat of the day – a little dark (but not too much) with the stars on the ceiling and the old movies playing while you’re sitting in cars. We loved the theming.

The food, we agreed, was overall a bit too heavy for our tastes.

DD9 chose the kids mac n cheese and the sundae – like the sundae, the mac n cheese became her usual and customary order – some restaurants’ mac n cheese were better than others. I think she enjoyed it but did not rave about.

DS had the chili appetizer, the burger/fries and the sundae. Unfortunately, he paid for this later – chili and a burger . . . too much to handle in the heat. It really took him a couple of days to get over that much heavy food in his system . . although -- while eating it he did actually like it, but did not finish it all. BTW -- I tasted DS13's burger -- others on these boards have raved about them -- I didn't think it was all that great -- -- the meat was a bit chunky and chewy -- not at all the way I like my burger.

I ordered the onion rings (which I shared with DSIL) – we loved them -- crispy on the outside, the breading stayed on while you were eating -- just yummy, yummy in my tummy. Thinking about those onion rings makes me want to eat them right now -- MMMMMM!!

I was concerned about eating a big burger in the heat (I actually warned DS13 of this – surprise, surprise, he didn’t listen!! – Yea – he’s a teenager!!). Anyway, I chose the veggie burger with onions, mushrooms and cheese. After tasting Ds13's burger, I was glad that I didn't order it !!

The veggie burger was great – it was different than a Boca burger – it had chunks of veggies in it (onions, corn -- I'm not sure what else but it wasquite yummy . . . EXCEPT that it also had chunks of onion and with the extra sauteed onions on top , it was too much. I had to take the sautéed onions off. BUt -- I really liked it once I took the sauteed onions off.

For dessert, I had the apple crumble with ice cream and it was quite good as well. I shared it DSIL and she agreed!!

Recap: Sci-Fi's theming rocks but we were not as crazy about the burgers and fries as others. We would go back, just for the theming (uh -- and the onion rings, of course ) -- especially since DH didn't get to experience it!!

 

[vinotinto]

I originally had made a 5 pm ADr for Chefs to see Remy (my DS loves to read this Ratatouille book and loves to hear about France), but recently swapped it for Tutto at 6:15, since we are driving from ATL that day and don't want to have to rush to dinner. Maybe I need to reconsider? Your dinner sounds great.

Anyways, thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to the rest.