ADRs? Yes We Made Stinking ADRs - A June '15 Dining Report - Updated 10/10: Sassagoula & Wrap-up

[disneymomof1]

Joining in, and happily following along !!

 

[Tinkerbell's Mom]

Woooohoooo I'm here and ready to go ... it's about time, you've kept us waiting for a WHOLE month!!!! Now let's get this show on the road

 

[MeganAndOwen]

I discovered your other dining reports over the weekend so I'm really excited to see you're doing another one! Can't wait see your thoughts!

 

[Haygar2]

I love to read what other people have to say! I am excited. Starting to plan our next trip (not until September of 2016 if I can convince hubby). We love all things Disney. Especially the food.

 

[Avery&Todd]

YEAH!! Ready for the eating to begin!!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Because of you we are doing half of our trip without ADR's. Can't wait to see how you liked having ADR's!

 

[kastoney]

Joining in, and happily following along !!

Woooohoooo I'm here and ready to go ... it's about time, you've kept us waiting for a WHOLE month!!!! Now let's get this show on the road

I know the nerve of me right ; ) Show about to commence

I discovered your other dining reports over the weekend so I'm really excited to see you're doing another one! Can't wait see your thoughts!

Thanks so much!

I love to read what other people have to say! I am excited. Starting to plan our next trip (not until September of 2016 if I can convince hubby). We love all things Disney. Especially the food.

That's good I love for other people to hear what I have to say ; )

YEAH!! Ready for the eating to begin!!

Almost there....

Because of you we are doing half of our trip without ADR's. Can't wait to see how you liked having ADR's!

Wow, hope you enjoy the ADR-less style. I know its not for everyone, but it works for us

 

[kastoney]

Ok, let’s do this thing already!

Before we really start the food party, I wanted to provide a bit of background on the trip. As those of you who followed my last report know, this was a surprise trip for my hubby for fathers day. I’d originally planned to just show up at his work and then head to the airport, but as time drew closer I thought it may be too hard for him to just pick up and leave. With no clever ideas for a big surprise reveal, I saw a good opportunity 3 days before the trip when Jason said he wanted a ribeye for fathers day(I already had Yachtsman Steakhouse ADR) and our subsequent text messages went a little something like this:

Me: How does this sound for father’s day: 16-oz Prime Rib-Eye Steak with Brioche, Bone Marrow, Point Reyes Blue Cheese Butter

J: Good except for the blue cheese

Me: Ok, I’ll cancel the reservations then

J: Where are we going?

Me: ; )

That was it till curiosity and a little googling got the better of him the next day:

J: Why did you send me the menu for Yachtsman steakhouse?

Me: Thought we could this weekend

J: Sure and then we can go to Napa and grab some wine

Me: No, just Disney we leave Thursday at 2. Happy Father’s Day

After that my phone quickly rang (I was traveling for work) and my stunned hubby commented that he’d never been so surprised.

Now onto Casey…I hadn’t told her either as there’s no chance she could keep a secret so the morning of the trip I told her when she woke up. It went a little something like this:

So she could get into the surprise fun I told her Jason didn’t know. She came up with the plan to tell him we were taking him to Chuck E Cheese, which of course is every father’s dream. She had a blast messing with him in the car but about half way to the airport she finally caved (told ya she couldn’t keep a secret) and told him we were going to DISNEY!!!!! Apparently she thought this was so much fun that just tonight at bedtime she told Jason they should surprise me and take me to Disney for my birthday next month ; ) Yep ladies and gentleman I’ve created a monster!!!

After an uneventful check-in (thank you JetBlue, no more Frontier for us), we enjoyed some sandwiches from Taylor Gourmet, which is a DC area chain. We’d never eaten here before, but were really surprised at how good it was. I don’t recall what Jason got, but Casey and I split this little beauty:

This is the Pearl Street which was turkey, spinach, brie cheese, and sun-dried tomato pesto. The turkey was nice and moist and went well with the brie and pesto. The spinach was super garlicy, which is a good thing in my book, and the bread was pretty spot on perfect.

Bellies full we were soon on our way and after a little bit of this

And some of this

A mere 2 hours later, we were on the Magical Express taking the requisite family selfie


Before long we arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter, a new resort for us and our first moderate. I didn’t get any resort pictures, but here are a few of our room.

This is the door, in case you hadn’t seen one before ; ) We were in building 6 and the 2nd which was a great location close to the lobby, buses, and pool. Though the resort is so small I don’t think there would be a bad location.

And this is grass, not to be confused with the hub at MK though. While I missed my deluxe balcony this was a nice view to walk out to each day.

Insert ooh's and aaah's here for the tv and dresser

And show some love to the beds

And last but not least the sinks, with not one but two mirrors

Overall we really liked the resort. The inside of the room was definitely more like a value than a deluxe and I’m not a huge fan of the motel style, but those were the only negatives. Housekeeping was great, service friendly, the resort was quiet, busses efficient, and the location was central to just about everything with a short bus ride to MK, Epcot, and MGM and of course the boat to DTD. I still love me a deluxe, but POFQ is a great moderate option when you don’t wanna spend an arm and a leg.

That’s where I’ll end it for today. Sorry for the lack of food pics, but I wanted to share some background on our adventures. Oh and I forgot to mention we just used our iPhones this trip vice Jason’s usual fancy shamancy camera so forgive the quality.

Up next finally some FOOD and a trip up river to Boatwrights!​

 

[amytech]

Following along

 

[Princess Leia]

Joining in - I'm just back from WDW with 12 days dining so will be interesting to compare notes. We went to Port Orleans for the first time. I had arranged for a surprise carriage ride - had put Surrey ride in the plans. The carriage ride toured us round the French Quarter.

 

[Vernie822]

Yay for a new trip report! Hope you guys had a great time.

I am cracking up at the Chuck E Cheese surprise.. haha! I think the birthday trip surprise is a pretty good one though.. maybe you'll get lucky.

Glad to hear you liked POFQ!

 

[KathyM2]

This is the Pearl Street which was turkey, spinach, brie cheese, and sun-dried tomato pesto. The turkey was nice and moist and went well with the brie and pesto. The spinach was super garlicy, which is a good thing in my book, and the bread was pretty spot on perfect.

That sounds delish! Wish I'd known about that place when we were in DC!!

location was central to just about everything with a short bus ride to MK, Epcot, and MGM and of course the boat to DTD.

I'm so glad to hear this!! I know...you can't beat deluxe but...not always up for those prices!

 

[JKSWonder]

I can't see the video! It's telling me I have to sign in to see it? I want to see it, cause I bet its cute!

We surprised our then 7 year old daughter with a trip to Disney World for her birthday. I went to school that afternoon to do her class cupcakes and her Daddy and brother waited in the car with all the luggage. Her teacher was in on it. After the class party, we walked out to the car and she couldn't understand why her father wasn't at work and her brother wasn't in nursery school. We handed her a box to open with messages and layers of stuff (You may need this: sunglasses. And this: sunscreen. Perhaps this: Mickey shirt, etc., etc). Well, it went over like lead balloon! A total bomb! She couldn't get it. It wasn't until we got through the airport at security (where I didn't have a video camera or a camera even) that she suddenly stopped dead and started jumping up and down because she FINALLY understood.

Kids. I haven't tried to surprise them since.

 

[pagek83]

Can't wait for your reviews! I loved your last trip report (even though I'm awful at commenting while reading... ) Can't wait to see what you thought of Boatwrights!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Yeah Kari! So happy to see you doing another DR and glad your surprise worked out so well.

Can't wait to hear about Boatwrights-

 

[chunkymonkey]

I'm here! Great start! I do miss POFQ! It was my first onsite resort and I think it's just lovely. I do agree that it is a bit too motel-like for me but where it lacks in amenities it makes up in Disney charm. Luckily we don't spend that much time in our rooms. Looking forward to the food!

 

[momof3princes]

We stayed in POFQ on our honeymoon and we loved the location...then my DH won a trip through work staying at the BC after we had stayed at POP 3 months earlier (not a fan, paper thin walls...enough said ) well that ruined me! I love deluxe resorts! Our next stay we are doing moderate but it makes for a longer trip so I will sacrifice

 

[Pfau]

I'm not a huge fan of flying but look forward to travelling out of DCA because I'm promised a Taylor sandwich.

 

[lauraleh]

Yay! So excited to be following along! I loved the surprise and text conversation with your husband! And Casey sounds a lot like my 4 year old when we talk about WDW too. So adorable!

A couple of things....1) Isn't it crazy what dads will eat after their kids? I wouldn't touch my kids' leftover food/drink. Gag. But he will finish whatever.
2) We took our daughter to a surprise party once and she is obsessed with surprises now. Even to the point when her dad gets home from work, she will hide and surprise him. Silly kid.
3) I'm really excited to hear about Raglan Road. Y'all did eat there right?

 

[kastoney]

Following along

Welcome to the food party!

Joining in - I'm just back from WDW with 12 days dining so will be interesting to compare notes. We went to Port Orleans for the first time. I had arranged for a surprise carriage ride - had put Surrey ride in the plans. The carriage ride toured us round the French Quarter.

The carriage ride sounds like so much fun. We saw some of the horses at Riverside, but never actually saw anyone on them. Are you going to do a trip or dining report? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Yay for a new trip report! Hope you guys had a great time.

I am cracking up at the Chuck E Cheese surprise.. haha! I think the birthday trip surprise is a pretty good one though.. maybe you'll get lucky.

Glad to hear you liked POFQ!

We've already got a trip planned for two weeks after my birthday, so I think that is as close as I'm gonna get. Yeah, Chuck E Cheese cracked me up. She loves that freaking place and Jason hates it and has only been once leaving the rest of the "fun" to me ; ) Funny in the world of a 4 year old what she presumes Daddy would really enjoy.

That sounds delish! Wish I'd known about that place when we were in DC!!

I'd never even heard of it before, but it was really good. Apparently they are all over the area, just not exactly in our neck of the woods.

I'm so glad to hear this!! I know...you can't beat deluxe but...not always up for those prices!

I used to say I had no idea why anyone would ever do deluxe than I treated myself and there was almost no turning back ; ) That said, I think you all will really like POFQ. Above all the location really was central to everything, which was a pleasant surprise.

I can't see the video! It's telling me I have to sign in to see it? I want to see it, cause I bet its cute!

We surprised our then 7 year old daughter with a trip to Disney World for her birthday. I went to school that afternoon to do her class cupcakes and her Daddy and brother waited in the car with all the luggage. Her teacher was in on it. After the class party, we walked out to the car and she couldn't understand why her father wasn't at work and her brother wasn't in nursery school. We handed her a box to open with messages and layers of stuff (You may need this: sunglasses. And this: sunscreen. Perhaps this: Mickey shirt, etc., etc). Well, it went over like lead balloon! A total bomb! She couldn't get it. It wasn't until we got through the airport at security (where I didn't have a video camera or a camera even) that she suddenly stopped dead and started jumping up and down because she FINALLY understood.

Kids. I haven't tried to surprise them since.

I think I fixed the video now. #TechnologyIsMyEnemy

Your surprise story cracks me up. What you didn't see on the video was a few minutes of me getting her to guess where we were going and her insisting it was the beach and getting frustrated that wasn't right. If I didn't spell it outright for her, she'd probably still not have figured it out ; )