A Quick Trip of Deliciousness! 4/26-4/29 Updated and Completed 5/23!

[bluechic03]

Hey Everyone

We just got back from a wonderful trip to the World....with our 11wk old son! It was the most magical trip yet We stayed at the Swan and therefore did not do the Disney Dining Plan. I was interested to see if we would save any money by not having the plan since we felt the plan had so much more food than what we usually eat. I saved most receipts so I'm going to compare what we would have spent on the plan versus what we actually spent.

Here's a quick intro so you know who you're reading about

My name is Carolyn, I'm 29 and currently live in Maine. I grew up in Chicago and used to be a chef before a back injury put an end to that, now I'm a banker (yay 9-5!) I like pretty much anything and will try anything but I LOVE Italian food and iced coffee. I also adore WDW and this was my 7th trip

Here we are in line for Dumbo!

My DH, Derek, is 33 and grew up in Boston. His mother was not exactly the best cook, thank god she isn't on the DIS He often says he didn't enjoy food until he met me He is a meat and potato kind of guy, but he's easily influenced if I strongly suggest he should order something. He also sushi.

Our Son, Silas, was born Feb. 9th and is the love of our lives. His favorite food currently is milk, milk, and more milk He loved WDW and all the lights, colors, and sounds, he went especially crazy for the Tiki Room!

His first Ears

I will cover the following

Wolfgang Puck Cafe
Pinnochio's Village Haus
Biergarten
Rosie's All American Cafe
Pecos Bill's
The Plaza
The Java Bar (at the Swan)

 

[MHSweb79]

I'm in! And I'm sure I dont' have to tell you how adorable your son is.....

The only place we've eaten that's on your list is the Biergarten, so I'll be looking to see how you liked that. If your DS loved the Tiki's, he's bound to have loved the oompah band, right?

 

[LuccaDrake]

Looking forward to your reviews! I also live in Maine and work in Portland. Your son is adorable! Can't wait to read about some food as it's my obsession on here currently.

~Beka~

 

[bluechic03]

I'm in! And I'm sure I dont' have to tell you how adorable your son is.....

The only place we've eaten that's on your list is the Biergarten, so I'll be looking to see how you liked that. If your DS loved the Tiki's, he's bound to have loved the oompah band, right?

Thank you so much for your compliment about our son I do think he's totally the cutest, but every mother does right? He did love the oompah band too, especially the chicken dance!

Looking forward to your reviews! I also live in Maine and work in Portland. Your son is adorable! Can't wait to read about some food as it's my obsession on here currently.

~Beka~

Thank you as well! And food is always my obsession

 

[bluechic03]

We arrived Monday 4/26 at about 5:45pm and got picked up from the airport by DH's brother Andrew and his wife Jeannie. I had my heart set on Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club for our first Disney meal, but the rest of my companions wanted to go to Downtown Disney. I caved and we got to Downtown Disney at about 7:30pm. They had the menus posted outside the restaurants, so we checked out Wolfgang Puck's and Bongo's. We decided Wolfgang Puck Cafe looked good since we liked the offerings and wanted to be waited on.

We were seated with a nice few of characters in flight in the back of the dining room.

Silas even had his own place setting!

Everyone had soda to drink, but I indulged and had a beer. It was a Heffeweise (sp?) and was just what I needed to start my vacation!

All the food descriptions will be courtesy of Allears.net

We started with a Rainbow Roll, which I forgot to take a pic of, but it was DELICIOUS and very fresh.
Rainbow Roll- California inside out with tuna, whitefish, salmon, shrimp and avocado $14.95

Andrew had -Macadamia Nut Crusted Breast of Chicken - Panko and macadamia nut crusted boneless breast of chicken, sho-yo cream, spice and garlic mashed potatoes $25.95
He thought it was really good and cleaned his plate. He also was really impressed with the micro-greens on top

Jeannie had the Four Cheese Wood-Fired Pizza. She didn't care for it that much and maybe ate half of it.
Four Cheese Pizza- mozzarella, fontina, goat, and parmesan cheeses, tomatoes, basil with pesto sauce $12.95

Derek and I split the Cobb Salad and a BBQ Chicken Pizza. Both were REALLY good, our only complaint was the bacon was super salty on the salad. So salty that it overpowered the rest of the salad. I had to pick off some of the bacon, if you knew me well you would know how difficult that was for me LOL I did enjoy the green beans on the salad, I'd never had them on a Cobb Salad but thought they were a nice touch.

Cobb Salad - Bacon, green beans, chopped egg, avocado, blue cheese, tomatoes with sherry vinaigrette $14.95

We both really liked the pizza, and managed to polish it all off. The sweet and tangy sauce was perfect with the bite of the red onion and creamy cheese. The picture came out blurry though, so no pic
BBQ Chicken Pizza- Roma tomatoes, red onions $13.95

We then split the Creme Brulee Cheesecake....OMG heaven on a plate! The cheesecake had the flecks of real vanilla bean and the crunchy creme brulee top was awesome! Again, a super blurry pic.....but a picture wouldn't even do it justice, my mouth is watering just thinking about it

Crème Brulee Cheesecake - Rich, smooth, custard cheesecake topped with bruleed sugar $7.95

Overall this was a really great first evening dinner. The ambiance was very relaxing and the view of Characters in Flight was really nice as well. The food was all very fresh and flavorful and service was great. I would eat here again just for the cheesecake!

 

[Mickeefan]

I'm hooked!

Looking forward to more reviews!

 

[MickeyNicki]

That baby is toooooo cute!

Love your reviews!

 

[Gouden Leeuw]

Signing on, can't wait for more.

 

[bluechic03]

I'm hooked!

Looking forward to more reviews!

Hi There! Thanks for reading

That baby is toooooo cute!

Love your reviews![/QUOTE
Thank you very much! I always read yours and love them as well

Signing on, can't wait for more.

Welcome!

 

[bluechic03]

Before beginning my next review, I need to backtrack and include some info I forgot to include in my last post, our total for WPC. The amount that would have been covered by the dining plan was $41.90.


This morning I woke up around 7:30am ready to go! My hubby on the other hand took a little more convincing....luckily the Swan had something to help with this matter....

ahhhhhhhhh thank God for starbucks! so much better than nescafe

I also frequented the java bar on the way to the parks for my beloved iced coffee, another saving grace

After our coffee fix, we started off Monday at the Magic Kingdom...had to take Silas on his first ride, Dumbo of course! Here's a bonus pic of us on the ride

He loved it and all the rides, but had a mini-meltdown about half way through Fantasyland. Pinnochio's was open but not serving yet, so i ducked in to feed Silas. I wanted to point this out for any other nursing Mom's out there...this was a very quiet and relaxing place to feed the baby without having to haul everyone back to the baby center or being out in the hot sun. Granted this was about 10:30am, well before lunch time.

We then finished the rest of Fantasyland and were getting pretty hungry. We decided to head back to Pinnochios for lunch ourselves. I was up for a salad, plus I think they may be closing it for the expansion. I think that's where they are putting the Beauty and the Beast restaurant. Anyone know for sure?

We shared a salad and pizza

Individual Pizza - Cheese $5.99 (sorry no pic)

Mediterranean Salad - mixed greens, chicken, roasted red peppers, black olives and red onions, parmesan, mozzarella cheese $8.49

This pic was from last year as I forgot a pic this year. The only difference is I didn't get those yummy pita bread wedges this time. I don't know if they forgot them or if they are just off for good.

We also ordered two large Diet Cokes (2.49 x 2) and a side of french fries (2.49)

Overall I enjoyed Pinnochios again. I really like the theme in this restaurant, it's very "fairytale" to me, and I will miss it if it is going to close. The only thing that I don't like is the things they have taken off the menu here. I used to love the Figaro Fries (first they were altered, now they're completely gone!) and the cannoli (again off the menu and replaced with the generic strawberry cheesecake you can get so many other places) They have added a meatball sub which looked pretty good, but I didn't get a chance to try. I should also mention they actually had a "special" this day. It was Chicken Parmesean served with orzo...I think it was priced between $8-$9.

Here are a few pics of the inside, I wanted to take these in case it is gone forever!

As far as pricing goes, total for this meal was $23.38. The only thing that wouldn't have been covered on the dining plan was the fries. So the estimated total that would have been covered by the dining plan is $20.89.
Our total so far spent that would have been covered by the plan is 62.79.

Up next, another old favorite, Biergarten!

 

[wdwfanatic316]

Wow! Great start! I really enjoyed the pics of Pinnochio's, and can't wait to hear review for Biergarten. I keep trying to fit it into our ADR's but can't ever seem to make it in. Oh, and I love the pic of your son with his first Mickey ears. Adorable!

 

[princessallegra]

Great start!!!!!! Your little one is an absolute ANGEL!!!!!! OMGGGGGGGGG!!!! So cute!!! The Dumbo pic is so cute. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I am loving your report so far!

Your son Silas and my son Adam share a birthday! He was born 2/9/10 too. I was looking at your pics and thinking he looks to be the same age as my son, and when I read his birth date, I just sort of teared up! I've been trying to convince his dad that we need to go to WDW and he insists he is too young! Just wait until he gets home from work tonight and I show him this!

 

[bluechic03]

Wow! Great start! I really enjoyed the pics of Pinnochio's, and can't wait to hear review for Biergarten. I keep trying to fit it into our ADR's but can't ever seem to make it in. Oh, and I love the pic of your son with his first Mickey ears. Adorable!

Thank you very much! I love the pic in his little ears, I'm so glad we got them I almost didn't since they didn't quite fit him yet....needless to say I'm so glad we did!

Great start!!!!!! Your little one is an absolute ANGEL!!!!!! OMGGGGGGGGG!!!! So cute!!! The Dumbo pic is so cute. Can't wait to read more!

Awwww thanks, I always tell him he's my angel

I am loving your report so far!

Your son Silas and my son Adam share a birthday! He was born 2/9/10 too. I was looking at your pics and thinking he looks to be the same age as my son, and when I read his birth date, I just sort of teared up! I've been trying to convince his dad that we need to go to WDW and he insists he is too young! Just wait until he gets home from work tonight and I show him this!

That's awesome! 2/9/10 is a great birthday He was born at 2:35am, how about Adam? We had such a great time, it was the perfect amount of time too. We were there only 4 days and in the parks for 2 1/2. It wasn't really all that much work, it just was a different pace. The babycenters are also REALLY nice, much nicer than I expected. I was nervous about it too, especially the plane rides, but he did great! And he really did love the rides and shows, he looked around a lot and was smiling/giggling A LOT!

 

[NitemaresSister]

Hi! I am in! Excited to see what else you ate!

Son is adorable, of course! Now having second thoughts about how I thought I would never take an infant to Disney... you are starting to convince me!!

 

[butiflfeet]

We haven't been to Pinnochio's in a while and I forgot how cute it is inside! I can't wait to read more of your reviews

 

[dumbo_buddy]

i'm in!!! love that baby! he's so cute i just want to bite him! lol!

looking forward to reading about your dining experience in germany! i love biergarten!

 

[martinolichfamily]

I'm in! Just found your report...great start!
Your DS is too cute!!

Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

That's awesome! 2/9/10 is a great birthday He was born at 2:35am, how about Adam? We had such a great time, it was the perfect amount of time too. We were there only 4 days and in the parks for 2 1/2. It wasn't really all that much work, it just was a different pace. The babycenters are also REALLY nice, much nicer than I expected. I was nervous about it too, especially the plane rides, but he did great! And he really did love the rides and shows, he looked around a lot and was smiling/giggling A LOT!

Adam was born at 9:08 AM. We did a scheduled C.

We are going down in August to visit family and hubby is afraid that it will be too hot for the baby... I'm trying to at least talk him into doing one MK day! I think feeding the baby in restaurant before it opened was a fabulous idea!

 

[SnwflkCts]

Cute baby as I have to chime in!

I really like all your pics -- you've had some things I hadn't seen before --

DH and I didn't use the dining plan the last two trips -- we had for two trips before that. Really, we were not dessert eaters and it probably worked out to be even (and better for our waistline!) then the money spent on the dining plan. The convenience of the dining plan was what I liked but we had it when the appitizer and tip was included and it really was a great deal!!

Can't wait for more! Thanks for posting your reviews!