I Wish I Would've Packed More Stretchy Pants - Deluxe Dining Report April 2016 - 6/30 LE CELLIER

[Vernie822]

WELCOME one and all to my 4th dining report!


My name is Ashley and my fiance's name is Justin. This dining report will chronicle our 4 day, 3 night stay at Pop Century resort with the Deluxe Dining Plan. We traveled Saturday 4/16 through Tuesday 4/19.


This was our first time going Deluxe. I’ll share our thoughts along the way. We’ve done the regular dining plan before, and we’ve paid out of pocket (bringing gift cards) before, but this time we decided to try something new. We like sit down meals at Disney and we figured a good time to try it would be when we’re only there for 3 nights and aren’t committing to a full week.


I’ll tally everything up that we spent along the way, to show you whether or not we came out “ahead” or if the deluxe dining plan defeated us!


Here’s a sneak peek of the restaurants we dined at this week:

Epcot Flower & Garden Booths
‘Ohana (Duh.. if you know us at all, you know we HAVE to eat here!)
Biergarten
Raglan Road
Tusker House
Narcoossee’s
Le Cellier


And a little bit more about us and our tastes... I have been going to WDW since I was a kid. I get my love for Disney from my mom! I love Disney and all of the magic that comes with it. I love the planning, the trip reports, the podcasts, all of it. I enjoy keeping up with Disney news and reading about other people's experiences. My favorite Disney meal is Ohana, and Justin will say the same. I love seafood (he hates it), a good breakfast buffet, and a signature meal every now and then.

Justin despises seafood (but he will eat tuna and occasionally crab). He is somewhat of a picky eater. I shouldn't say picky, I should say he likes traditional food. Pizza, burgers, steak, spaghetti and meatballs, etc. He's really a simple guy, and balances out my crazy, which is good. He also loves a mid-day nap!


Thanks for joining us.. I'll be sure to get to the reviews shortly! ​

​

 

[Nohal]

Love the title of your thread. Looking forward to your reviews.

 

[vettegirl]

Sounds like a great lineup!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Looking forward to reading the reviews Ashley!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Joining in!

 

[Vernie822]

OK, lets get this party started!

We like to fly to Orlando early in the morning and get to the parks mid-morning, having nearly a full day of park time. This time it kind of backfired on us. We went to a baseball game with our friend and his girlfriend and stayed at his apartment - he lives 15 mins from the airport, we live 2 hours, and my parents live about 45 minutes, so it was really nice of him to let us stay. We didn’t get a good night sleep, we got to bed around midnight and had trouble sleeping on his mattress, so we were up around 2:30 in the morning.


Two and a half hours sleep. With an entire day of park touring ahead of us. YIKES.

We originally planned to leave at 4:30 AM, arriving at the airport by 5 for our 6:25 AM flight. Once we were up, Justin said “Let’s leave at 3:30 instead.” I thought “You must be crazy” but we were so glad we did. We were parked and inside the airport by shortly after 4, and by the time we checked our bags, got through security, grabbed some breakfast (bagel for me, McDonalds for Justin), and found a spot to sit, it was time to board!


Fast forward a bit through the flight, a short ride on Magical Express, and we had arrived at Pop Century! Our room was not yet ready but all we wanted to do was grab our refillable mugs, fill them up, and head to Epcot.


With only 4 full days, we knew we wouldn’t get to do EVERYTHING.. This trip was more about relaxing, eating at some new places, and just having fun.


Justin had decided a few months prior that he wanted our first day to be at Epcot, sampling some of the Flower and Garden offerings. We got to Epcot around 10:30 and just hung around for a bit before the booths opened at 11. Flower and Garden is not as overwhelming as Food and Wine. There are less booths to choose from, so we went through the passport and each chose a few things we wanted to try.

The World Showcase was virtually empty while we were there.

Our first stop was the Cider House in the UK, where we decided to try the potato and cheese biscuit.

House Made Potato and Cheddar Biscuit, served with Smoked Salmon Tartare, $5.00

The good: The biscuit was delicious. Kind of reminded us of the potato and leek waffle in Belgium with braised beef, though the waffle is much better.

The bad: The smoked salmon tartare was terrible. Now, it was probably really good, but it was not my thing. I love salmon, but it just had a disgusting texture (IMO). Surely this is what salmon tartare is supposed to taste like, and I am just not fancy enough. But I have an issue with some textures, and I did not get along well with the salmon tartare.




Next, we headed towards France for the Fleur de Lys booth. Justin wanted something from the bakery but decided to save that for another day. We contemplated the duck confit, but instead with a liquid option.

I chose the La Vie en Rose Frozen Slushy.

La Vie en Rose Frozen Slushy: Grey Goose Orange Vodka, St. Germain Liqueur, White and Red Cranberry Juice, $9.95


This was fantastic! Perfectly sweet without being syrupy, and just enough of a jolt from the alcohol. It was refreshing and delicious. I’m really glad I chose this.


Justin chose next, and he chose to stop at Hanami (Japan) for the Beef Teriyaki Udon.

Beef Teriyaki Udon: Thin-sliced Beef, Onions and Noodles tossed on the grill with Soy and Ginger, $5.95.


This was delicious. The dish was nice and warm, with the perfect mix of flavors from the soy and ginger. We decided we need to make something similar at home. It may seem plain to some but it really suited Justin’s tastebuds! Not sure what the pinkish stuff is on top, but we loved it. It added a little sweetness with some crunch.



I sampled some F&G items on a girls trip last year, and really loved the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash from the Smokehouse booth in America. I had to try it again this year!

Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash: Served with White Cheddar Fondue and Pickled Jalapenos, $5.75.


Near the forks and napkins, they had some sauces to choose from. There was a sweet BBQ sauce, a hot BBQ sauce, and a Carolina BBQ sauce. The lighter one on the left is Carolina BBQ which I believe is more vinegar based. The sweet BBQ is on the right. Both added a nice change of pace to the dish.


This did not disappoint! Justin loved it, too. The Smokehouse area seriously smelled amazing. The beef brisket ends were juicy but a little crispy. The white cheddar fondue was the perfect amount of thickness, and went really well with the beef and potatoes. We didn’t eat many of the jalapenos. Overall this is a really nice dish and I wish we would have had time to go back and order a few more.

Love this topiary in Italy.


Justin’s choice was next, and he wanted to try the Currywurst in Germany at the Bauernmarkt.

Currywurst with Paprika Chips: Roasted Bratwurst with Curry Ketchup and Paprika-spiced Chips, $5.00


Basically, this was a sausage with ketchup and some chips. The ketchup here was really overpowering and everything we ate just tasted like straight tomatoes. It wasn’t a bad thing, I really liked the chips and Justin was satisfied with the dish. It wasn’t really anything special, but it tasted good.

They had this neat Jungle Book display (I think it looked like sand?) on the left on the way into the Africa area.

We tried one last item at the Urban Farm Eats location, the Seared Pork Tenderloin.

Seared Pork Tenderloin with Mushroom Ragout, Spring Vegetables, and Marble Potatoes.


Justin would eat meat and potatoes every day, so he liked this. The pork was cooked well and the whole dish just smelled delicious. I don’t even think I managed to get a potato, so they must have been good. I ate the pork with mushroom sauce and some of the vegetables. This dish was delicious, not really worth $6, but it was worth a try.



Overall, we wished we could have spent more time at the festival. We could have, but with Deluxe Dining, there was little room for snacks, which you’ll see later! I wanted to try the falafel in Morocco and a few other things that we never got back to. I enjoyed the few items that we sampled and it was a nice light lunch to keep us full until dinner without taking up too much stomach space.



We also stopped and got our Annual Passholder prints (April’s is Goofy), which was a nice perk. We received a text that our room was ready, so we headed back to Pop for a quick nap and some freshening up before our big night ahead. We were really looking forward to a few different events that evening!

​

DINING PLAN BREAKDOWN: Like all good Disney goers, we were hoarding our snack credits at first and did not want to use a ton on the food booths. We paid for 2 items with snack credits and paid OOP for the rest.

OOP: $25.95
2 Snack Credits: $11.70
2 Refillable Mugs: About $35

Total OOP: $25.95
Total Dining Plan: $46.70


Next up, dinner at Ohana and we set sail on the General Joe Potter for some fireworks.​

 

[Vernie822]

Love the title of your thread. Looking forward to your reviews.

Sounds like a great lineup!

Looking forward to reading the reviews Ashley!

Joining in!

Thanks for joining us on our food adventures!

 

[nco91590]

Oooh! That drink looks YUM! I am loving St. Germain these days.

We totally waivered on DxDP so I'm really interested to see if we made the right choice by not doing it! Looking forward to your reviews

 

[momtotaryn]

Can't wait to see more of your reviews! I'm especially interested in Biergarten and Tusker House, both of which are included for our trip.

 

[pumba]

we will be there in five days..and I am counting...sounds great for the flower and garden food ...and we are thinking of our Ohana trip too..thanks for the reviews so far

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Following along!

Well, you have just sealed the deal on me getting the La Vie en Rose slushy. That is so happening - in 26 days!!

On our last trip, we just did the regular DDP and ended up having almost all of our snack credits still at the end of our trip (which then didn't get spent well - mostly on energy drinks for my husband and Rice Krispy treats). This time we plan on using all of them at F&G, so then we will have the few we really want on other days (if ever) come OOP.

Thanks for your reviews!!

 

[Adgie128]

I'm on board! I'm so excited you're doing another report. I saw your posts on FB and was hoping to see your new thread show up on the Dis. I'm interested to see what you thought of doing the Deluxe DP!

Yum to everything so far!

 

[suse66]

Looking forward to reading more! you are brave to take on the DxDP!

 

[phabric]

Looking forward to more reviews.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Haha, love your title, & love stretchy pants! I'm def trying the burnt ends hash on our upcoming trip!

 

[Vernie822]

Oooh! That drink looks YUM! I am loving St. Germain these days.

We totally waivered on DxDP so I'm really interested to see if we made the right choice by not doing it! Looking forward to your reviews

Yes! The drink was delicious. I usually stick to what I know (grapefruit beer) but I was glad I tried this.

Can't wait to see more of your reviews! I'm especially interested in Biergarten and Tusker House, both of which are included for our trip.

Thanks! We enjoyed both, I hope you do too.

we will be there in five days..and I am counting...sounds great for the flower and garden food ...and we are thinking of our Ohana trip too..thanks for the reviews so far

Yayyyy!! You are getting so close. I hope you have a great trip!

Following along!

Well, you have just sealed the deal on me getting the La Vie en Rose slushy. That is so happening - in 26 days!!

On our last trip, we just did the regular DDP and ended up having almost all of our snack credits still at the end of our trip (which then didn't get spent well - mostly on energy drinks for my husband and Rice Krispy treats). This time we plan on using all of them at F&G, so then we will have the few we really want on other days (if ever) come OOP.

Thanks for your reviews!!

YES! The slushy is a must.

I think using them a F&G is a great idea. We had no clue what Deluxe dining would be like and I didn't want to spend them all in one place. We ended up making good use of all of them, only took a couple items home, but we only had 12 snacks to begin with.

I'm on board! I'm so excited you're doing another report. I saw your posts on FB and was hoping to see your new thread show up on the Dis. I'm interested to see what you thought of doing the Deluxe DP!

Yum to everything so far!

YAY, thanks for reading!!

Looking forward to reading more! you are brave to take on the DxDP!

Haha!! That's what our server at Raglan Road said - "The deluxe plan will feed you!" and he was right...

Looking forward to more reviews.

Thanks!

Haha, love your title, & love stretchy pants! I'm def trying the burnt ends hash on our upcoming trip!

The hash is sooooo so so so good. Especially because who has the time/finesse to make something like that at home!? Not me! So it was so nice to walk up and have it handed to us.

I only packed 1 pair of stretchy pants and I was regretting it big time HA!

 

[Vernie822]

OHANA

We had our one must-do reservation for dinner that night, Ohana. In 3 of our last 4 trips, we have dined at Ohana on our first night, so I decided to keep the streak going here. We missed the 180 day mark by a few months, so I was happy when I grabbed an 8:10 PM reservation just after we booked in December.


A few months later, I read online about Ohana changing their hours to open up earlier. I was able to get a reservation for 4:15 PM, which Justin was happy about. He always says he hates leaving Ohana feeling so full and going home and going right to bed.


We ended up really making this work, we headed to Magic Kingdom after our break in the room, took a spin on Splash Mountain and I think 7DMT, and took it all in for a little before heading to the Poly for our reservation.


The Express Monorail was just arriving so we took that monorail to the TTC and walked to the Poly. The walk is short and we enjoy it. I just love the Poly vibe.. felt like home! We decided to check in, although we were a little early, around 3:50. We were seated almost immediately! We both had gone to the restroom and the pager started buzzing as Justin was walking out. It was a nice change of pace, since usually we wait for at least 20-30 minutes for Ohana.


We had a great server, Sam, she was really sweet. She took our drink orders (Diet Coke all around) and was back pretty quickly with them.


It felt like we were rushed through the appetizers, so we just took our time eating. First comes the bread, which is one of my favorite parts… Justin thinks he “knows better” than to fill up on bread, but I never question that crazy statement. More bread for me! This bread is awesome. For some reason they didn't give us butter and I had to ask, but it was brought out very quickly.

Then comes the salad, which had some mushrooms, carrots, and other veggies amongst it. It also has wonton strips and a passionfruit vinaigrette. I really like the salad, it is light and refreshing. The salad had more toppings on it than this, but Justin had already taken his portion before I took the picture.

Next up were the potstickers and honey coriander wings, which are possibly our favorite part of the meal. I could make a meal off the wings alone… SOOOOO good! and I’m not even a wings eater. Justin loves the potstickers and our server brought us some more. The potstickers are pan-seared here, not steamed.

We were also given some dipping sauces, one is I think a sweet and sour, and I think the other is a peanut sauce.

Thankfully we had a few minutes before our noodles and veggies came out. The veggies were cooked really nicely this time, not too crunchy but not soggy. The noodles are always delicious, too!

Then the server comes around with skewers of Szechuan sirloin steak, chicken thighs, and peel and eat shrimp. We each had a few pieces of steak, which was juicy and flavorful. I love the different marinades they use on the meat here. (Sorry, no pictures.. I hate photographing a dirty plate and my plate was not appetizing with chicken bones all over it!)


Chicken was next, I had a really juicy piece of chicken thigh that I really enjoyed. I don’t typically like chicken thighs but these were delicious and had a lot of flavor. Unfortunately when I got a second piece of chicken, it was hard as a rock and totally dried out. I tasted it and it just tasted like straight smoke from the grill! Justin was nice enough to give me a piece of his since he had asked for a few more.


Justin doesn’t eat shrimp, but I LOVE IT. The menu lists it as “spicy grilled shrimp” but I don’t think it’s very spicy. You do have to peel it yourself.

All while you are eating, Auntie sings and plays games with the kids. We always end up at an aisle table, and for an entire hour I pray to God that Auntie doesn’t come serenade us. Something about it is just so awkward. Auntie sings cute songs, wishes Happy Birthdays, etc. She also had leis to give to the kids (and adults if they asked). Sorry lady, I’m just here for the food!


Of course I can’t leave out the all-important.. COCONUT RACE! Which is seriously the funniest thing. They corral up all the kids at the middle of the restaurant, give them a broom and a big hairy coconut, and have them race to the finish line. We were seated right next to the race way which just made for some funny moments. Some kids get real into it! Others are dragged by their parents and mope for 30 feet because they’d rather be eating chicken fingers.


Speaking of chicken fingers, I see a lot of people asking about kids meals at Ohana. If your little ones aren’t into the Hawaiian cuisine, let your server know! In the multiple times we’ve been there, we usually see a platter of chicken nuggets and French fries, and some mac and cheese, for the kids. I have also seen hot dogs. And they bring out a special dessert for them too! Little brownie cupcakes with icing and M&M’s.


Dessert is one of the best parts of the meal – pineapple coconut bread pudding with bananas foster sauce! Justin hates bread pudding, so I get it all to myself (YES!!!) but he eats the ice cream off the top because I don’t like to risk it with too much dairy. It’s a match made in heaven, actually.

I nearly polished off this entire piece of bread pudding. It was just as delicious as I recall. I nearly ate bread pudding 3 out of 4 days on this trip, more on that later, but I just love it.


Of course we will return to Ohana again. Our meal there was probably one of the best we’ve ever had. The service was great, and we loved the early evening vibe. We were out of there with plenty of time for some Magic Kingdom rides that night!

Both Justin and I rated this meal a 5. Aside from being a little rushed with the first few appetizers, our service was outstanding and the food was amazing as always.

It was really nice doing Ohana early in the evening, on a somewhat empty stomach. We had been up for 12 hours and had not eaten much at F&G, so we weren't stuffed to the brim afterwards and managed to get back to MK for a few rides.

We had FP's for Splash and Big Thunder that evening so we did those, and maybe another attraction or two. I think we might have done Pirates.


We had a very important date that night at 8:45 at the TTC.. the Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Cruise. I will explain how we got there and what we thought of it in my next post.



​

DINING PLAN BREAKDOWN: Dinner for 2 at Ohana came to $85 after tax. It's priced at about $40/person. We used 2 table service credits.

OOP: Tip
Dining Plan: $85.20

Total OOP: $25.95 + Tip
Total Dining Plan: $131.90​

 

[TeresaNJ]

To do Ohana's or not, that is the question that I always ask myself every trip. After reading your report, now I'm wanting to snag a reservation!

 

[momtotaryn]

On our first trip to WDW, we chose Kona Cafe over Ohana's, thinking maybe we'll go the next time. (BTW, I had my best meal at Kona Cafe!) Well, we bypassed Ohana's again for our upcoming trip, mostly because we're traveling with my sister and her family (it's their first trip to WDW). Since we are from Hawaii, they felt Ohana's was too similar to what we have back home. Well, that may be true, but your pictures made me decide that if/when we make our next trip, we'll have to make sure to include Ohana's. WOW, so yummy looking!

 

[Mich123]

We love 'Ohana! I've seen a lot of mixed reviews, however, I have not had a bad experience and my best experience was just last December. The meat on the skewers was so tender and delicious and of course all the sides were fantastic as well. Let's keep that a secret though, so we can still get reservations!