Bucket List NYE at WDW with Platinum Plan - new 2/28 bonus post, wrap up, and COMPLETE

[Neverland_Girl]

Hi I just found your report and got myself all caught up! V&A looks so good. I'm willing to try almost anything once, but the BF is so picky I couldn't not justify spending that much money on a meal he probably won't like. Looking forward to the rest!

 

[pepperandchips]

Not sure how I missed your report before now, but I am here now and after your full couple of reviews me and my drool are officially on the edge of our seats.

V&A looks absolutely amazing. What a perfect food and drink experience. I've yet to convince the hubby to go, but one of these days...

YEAH where have you been?! Oh, gallivanting in the Keys... I guess you're forgiven This is the type of experience that just has the Stones written all over it. Amazing food, AMAZING WINE, and I would love to hear an actual chef's opinion of this. (Actual chef. Versus, you know... like rat chef I have no idea where I was going with that...) Hang on to your drool because Tiffins is up next!!!

When we went, I intentionally ordered items that didn't thrill me. For me, the evening was about exploring and tasting some of the best prepared foods that I would normally never order.

Yes! That is exactly why I didn't tell the very nice lady who called me to confirm the reservation that I had any.. err.. reservations (ha) about seafood or any of my texture issues. I wanted to taste what the chefs put on the menu and I am really glad that I did. Like your beet scenario, I found that I really liked the scallop!

I now order my whole chickens from the same supplier that V&A uses. Chicken, who knew it had a flavor of it's own and is tasty!

California Grill had a chicken on the menu a couple of years ago that my sister ordered (she's a light eater) and it truly changed the opinion of my entire family as to what a chicken is supposed to taste like. I read "My Life in France" (a Julia Child memoir) and when she was describing actual chicken flavored chickens I felt like I had a point of reference. So where are the chickens from?!

A wonderful report, even with the influence of the wine pairings Man, I want to go back so desperately!

You both looked so pretty/handsome!

Thank you... I tried my best at the report! It was a balancing act between the reckless abandon of enjoying my meal and wanting to document the dinner for posterity (and myself to remember and enjoy). And also thank you for the compliment. We wanted to look like we knew what we were doing in a fancy schmancy place...

Yay! The V&A review! I'm so impressed you made it through the wine pairings. I'm a one and done lightweight so I would have been asleep at the table by course 2. I'm so lame.

Shel! I just read about halfway through your PTR - I think of anyone on the boards you deserve a big ol' wine pairing! LOL. I am glad you guys got your poor O's allergies sorted out. That sounds truly awful. To tell the truth I had been worrying/thinking of you guys sent you first sent up a flare about maybe needing to relinquish the WBC bin coordination. I am glad that it sounds like your family's health issues are better now, even if one smallest member is in a pitiful back brace! And I don't think you're lame at all, I had to drink LOTS of water between the glasses of wine. What I didn't post was that each course was almost exactly 30 minutes apart, so that kept us from getting too sloshed.

I keep going back and forth about keeping our May reservation.

Well it sounds like a perfect celebration after three canceled trips last year, but I would not go if I was having doubts. It's such a big investment and if I was on the fence I don't think I could deal with the possibility of disappointment. There are so many wonderful options that are not $185 per person...

Wowzers, what an evening! I give you mad props for making it through all the wine pairings, plus remembering what all that lovely food tasted like!

yes, I had been endurance training for months on the wine consumption... Just kidding. It really was a very special evening and it was just paced so beautifully that I never felt overserved. I was truly floating on the edge of a wine buzz with just enough food and just enough harp music that I never felt like I needed to rush through a glass of wine or that I was waiting for the next pour...

My husband is so much like you in regards to seafood and texture, he loves fish ( in fried form) but he refuses to try lobster or scallops, and I got him to try octopus at Coral Reef and he hated it I think he was worried one of the suckers was going to stick to his throat and suffocate him or something...

I love fried seafood too, so I totally get where hubs is coming from. Lobster, crab, calamari, and shrimp all are on my "permitted" list as are raw fish of all sorts if made into a sushi roll with something crunchy (cucumber or tempura), I can do white flaky fish in any preparation and I like mussels and oysters if I have something crunchy to eat them on (crackers or bread). So as you can see my preferences aren't OVERLY limited they're just nuanced... Okay I sound like a lunatic, but hey I know what I like! AND IT IS NOT OCTOPUS! blech

Pretty dang awesome evening, love your food descriptions. Crap. Now I'm hungry.

Isn't that always the danger? Can't read trip/dining reports before dinner or on lunch break... or in the middle of Saturday afternoon, or... okay, yeah disney food can always make you hungry!

What an amazing evening! I think when you have such perfectly crafted dishes, of course you are going to be experiencing them critically...

it was so lovely and I tried not to be too critical, just to enjoy the flavors. Nothing went back to the kitchen uneaten, I assure you - even if something wasn't to my taste I could see objectively that it was prepared properly and with creativity. I think R liked everything, I'm just a seafood weirdo!

it was good that you tried the salmon, now you really know! I am a huge lover of fish and seafood so all of that sounds great to me, but not such a big fan of duck, lol.

Yep, I know and love many salmon afficionados... I think I just have wonky tastebuds. You know how some people don't like cilantro (I personally find that to be borderline heresy, but Ina Garten is usually otherwise correct so I can give her a pass) well my "cilantro" is salmon and tuna. I know how healthy they are and I WANT to like them so badly I just have something wrong with my tastebuds...

So basically you got most of your $260 a day in this one meal. Nice. So if I went solo I could expect to drop about $400 for the same experience. I still wanna!

Yes! We made out like bandits on the plan (SPOILER alert haha). The meal we had would have been $290 OOP plus tax and tip... so yeah, $400 is probably not far off

Yay, have been looking forward to your V&A's review. Wow, what an experience! Everything looked amazing. I just love wine pairing menus--it's so fun to try things you normally wouldn't. You guys will remember that meal forever!

Yes we will remember it forever! It was a very special evening, I just wish I could remember that one server's name. It has been driving me nuts!

The wine pairing definitely opened my eyes to the possibility of doing this at other restaurants or just asking the sommelier to pair things and not be embarrassed about my lack of knowledge. We are learning more and more about wine and this experience was definitely worth the price to branch out and try some great wine!

Hi I just found your report and got myself all caught up! V&A looks so good. I'm willing to try almost anything once, but the BF is so picky I couldn't not justify spending that much money on a meal he probably won't like. Looking forward to the rest!

So glad to have you here! I have heard that V&A's will totally tailor the menu for a picky eater, I just wanted to expand my horizons... but you may be right. If BF's tastes range from the full gamut of "chicken" to "chicken" I would be hesitant to drop the major bucks on this meal. I mean, can you really eat $185 of chicken!? It was an absolutely amazing experience and not one we'll likely do again soon. Stay tuned I have plenty more dining reviews ahead!!!

 

[alex9179]

California Grill had a chicken on the menu a couple of years ago that my sister ordered (she's a light eater) and it truly changed the opinion of my entire family as to what a chicken is supposed to taste like. I read "My Life in France" (a Julia Child memoir) and when she was describing actual chicken flavored chickens I felt like I had a point of reference. So where are the chickens from?!

Joyce Farms provides their Poulet Rouge Fermier to several upscale restaurants. This comes with the caveat of learning how to cook chicken to the correct temp, something I have practiced since our 2012 dinner (OCD is super fun!) and how to treat the skin, which is much thinner than grocery store chicken and actually easier. But yeah, chicken can have flavor! I also ordered a duck and it was fabulous. They have free shipping deals on occasion and I took advantage of that when ordering the items for my freezer.
https://joyce-farms.com/pages/heritage-poultry

 

[ariane37]

Those dishes at V&A all look so beautiful! Steve and I have discussed it before, but I'm the picky one..... I don't eat seafood at all and I don't know that I could bring myself to eat rabbit lol. Maybe the duck. I'd love to say I'd go into it wholeheartedly ready to step out of my comfort zone, but if I chickened out with the first course it would truly be a waste of big bucks! That Kobe beef though
You do such a good job of describing the flavor so of the foods, and also the wines. I will say the Moscato would have been my favorite since right now that's the only wine I drink- I like the sweet stuff!
Love the picture of you guys, too

 

[pepperandchips]

Joyce Farms provides their Poulet Rouge Fermier to several upscale restaurants. This comes with the caveat of learning how to cook chicken to the correct temp, something I have practiced since our 2012 dinner (OCD is super fun!) and how to treat the skin, which is much thinner than grocery store chicken and actually easier. But yeah, chicken can have flavor! I also ordered a duck and it was fabulous. They have free shipping deals on occasion and I took advantage of that when ordering the items for my freezer.
https://joyce-farms.com/pages/heritage-poultry

Thank you so much! I'm going to check that out.

Those dishes at V&A all look so beautiful! Steve and I have discussed it before, but I'm the picky one..... I don't eat seafood at all and I don't know that I could bring myself to eat rabbit lol. Maybe the duck. I'd love to say I'd go into it wholeheartedly ready to step out of my comfort zone, but if I chickened out with the first course it would truly be a waste of big bucks! That Kobe beef though
You do such a good job of describing the flavor so of the foods, and also the wines. I will say the Moscato would have been my favorite since right now that's the only wine I drink- I like the sweet stuff!
Love the picture of you guys, too

My Disney sister from another mister. I totally get the seafood aversion, and I don't think I would have had the guts to spring for this meal at all if it weren't for the platinum plan! There is a lot of steak I can eat for $185 elsewhere on property but that is precisely why I booked the platinum plan for this one trip, it was a great chance to try things at a "flat rate". You should definitely try a wine pairing some time, you may find other things that speak to you! I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly think the reason we didn't care as much for the lovely Madeira and Moscato d'Asti was that we were just so full and full of wine! I bet it is heavenly as a first (or third) glass!!!

 

[pepperandchips]

12/30 Backstage Tales and Tiffins Lunch:

Spoiler alert: today was the best day of the trip for me! Sorry in advance for the VERY long post. I will probably have a bit more "TR" than "DR" in this day's installments but I don't feel like writing a whole trip report and I can't NOT talk about the most amazing Disney day ever.

We had to get up super early this morning as our day was kicking off with Animal Kingdom's Backstage Tales tour at 7:15 am. Since it was such an early meeting time, we didn't want to risk the bus so we drove our car to AK. We had just enough time to grab a fritter and a coffee from the Joffrey's kiosk outside the park that we wolfed down while starting our tour briefing (sorry no photo since we were busy wolfing these down. R paid out of pocket and I don't have the receipt).

I became obsessed with the Africa area Christmas decor!

My favorite park with no people in it was also amazing.

Our tour met just outside of guest relations outside the park. Our guides were Taylor, Mel, and Shannon - I don't know how many guides this tour usually has but it became readily apparent that Taylor was completing her training and very obviously being evaluated by Mel. Nevertheless she was a knowledgable and friendly guide and we had an amazing tour. The first stop was the aviary on the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail, where we met keeper Dave who engaged us and let us feed some of the birds as well as put out nesting material for the birds to select from.

While we spent time in the aviary, guests started coming in as the park was officially open. We moved along away from the crowd toward the gorilla exhibit, where we were treated to a pretty amazing show by the silverback of the group - he pounced on the glass and then beat his chest to show us who was boss. It was pretty amazing spending a few uncrowded moments watching the gorillas.

After the Gorilla Falls trail, we went backstage near Festival of the Lion King, and stayed backstage for a long period of time. This was amazing! I loved seeing the off-limits areas including the lighting system for the sunset safaris and many animal barns, the onsite farm, the back sides of Everest and Kali River Rapids, and many more backstage animal care areas than I knew existed. We spent some time at the White Rino barn, where we met Kendi the mama rhino and another rhino who was a youth. The keeper we met here was so passionate and it was awesome to watch the interaction between Kendi and the keeper. The animals are obviously loved, well-tended, and comfortable. We then went to the vet hospital at Planet Watch before going to a backstage classroom area for a little discourse on the revitalization efforts of the bird population on Guam where we also enjoyed a hot beverage of our choice and a super cute elephant-shaped rice krispie. We also got a very nice souvenir watter bottle at this stop.

We moved on and visited what I put in my notes as "bug house" which was a small facility hosting a variety of spiders, roaches, and other creepy crawlies. The keeper here was also engaged and very passionate despite her somewhat icky (to me) charges. Finally, we had an opportunity to create enrichment for the porcupines, on exhibit near the Tree of Life. We got to stuff plastic tubes with a variety of vegetables and grasses, seasoned to our desire and sprayed with fragrance to entertain the porcupines. Then we went out in front of the exhibit to watch the keeper put out the treats and the porcupines enjoy the fruits of our labor! That was really cool and a wonderful way to end the tour.

Of course, the real highlight of our time in Animal Kingdom was LUNCH! I was so excited to return to Tiffins and to experience this restaurant with R. I had been with my mom around the time Jungle Book Alive with Magic premiered, and we had a wonderful meal, so I was really looking forward to our lunch.

Photo stolen from EasyWDW

We were seated on this occasion in the Safari Gallery, which I liked as we had been previously seated in the Grand Gallery, which was also nice but I prefer the intimacy and richer ambiance in the Safari Gallery. At our table was a lovely "Welcome back" note (which I didn't take a picture of since it's largely emblazoned with my last name) and it was the first time I had experienced this special touch, so it went a long way. Our server, Christopher, was extremely animated and engaging. He recommended drinks and even went to go get us the Nomad Lounge cocktail menu in order to provide us with additional choices. He was really helpful even if we did hear him repeat the same spiel at the next couple of tables (and here I thought we were special!).

R started with the Kungaloosh draft ($8.75, I think). It was pretty good but nothing very adventurous in my opinion. R liked it obviously as I had to borrow this photo from a subsequent trip to the Nomad Lounge where the Kungaloosh was a repeat libation.

I tried the Boto Rita ($10.75) from the Nomad Lounge menu which is described as "Zignum Reposado Mezcal, Combier Grapefruit Liqueur, Guava Puree, and Lime Juice". This was tasty and refreshing and had an almost creamy consistency. It was not too sweet and had a nice smoke undertone from the mezcal but did not taste like a campfire as some mezcal-based drinks do. The garnish is pink peppercorns - fun!

Christopher highly recommended the sustainable fish causa, served with "Peruvian purple potato, aji amarillo vinaigrette, lime mayonnaise, cilantro, and quail egg" ($15). Christopher also embellished this description, making it sound absolutely irresistable.

In short: this fell flat. It wasn't gross and it was certainly edible, but after all that description and Christopher's recommendation I was expecting to fall in love with this dish. The preparation isn't particularly appetizing (this kind of presentation looked a bit like the fish had already been chewed for us) and the flavors were just missing something. The mushy fish and mushy potato and squishy egg was too much for my texture issues so I only had a few bites and stopped eating when we ran out of tomatoes. I wanted more acid or a pop of spicy oil or something else to bring out the taste of the fish. It was just bland. Spoiler alert: I have since been back to Nomad Lounge (on a different trip) and our server agreed with me that the causa was missing something.

Our other appetizer choice was the Apple Walnut Salad which the menu describes as "bibb lettuce, heirloom apples, candied walnuts, apple cider vinaigrette" ($12). Again, I felt like something was missing here. This had a sort of endive or fennel flavor throughout but otherwise managed to be pretty bland. In retrospect I am thinking the apples weren't quite ripe and that they subbed endive for the intended Bibb lettuce.

Lest I lose you all, the entrees were where our meal really shined.

(R took this pic so blame him for the fuzziness)

I present: Whole Fried Sustainable Fish "fermented black bean sauce,som tam, peanuts" ($43). This is so yummy. I love fried fish and this was very fresh, very light, and perfectly crisp with just a hint of salt brine in the fish flesh reminding you that this was, after all, seafood. The accompaniments were tasty and I have no complaints at all about the generous portion size or stunning plating choice. The rice underneath was excellent and sopped up all the delicious sauce flavors. My mom had this on my prior visit to Tiffins and it was great then as well!

Where's that angel trumpet music again? here we have my choice (the same as last time also, come to think of it) the Wagyu Strip Loin and Braised Short Rib "rainbow carrot, roasted Peruvian potatoes, chimichurri" ($53). And holy moses this is what $53 beef should be. The medium rare strip loin has the buttery quality of filet with a nice char on the outside and soft, supple beefiness inside that was perfectly tender and succulent. The braised short rib is buttery, fall-apart, and a roasty-toasty brown flavor. This is one of the best "steak" dishes I have had at Walt Disney World.

Apparently I died of happiness after the entree course as I stopped taking pictures, but I will attempt to nab some for you from the far realms of the interwebs. (Note: Thanks to EasyWDW for these gorgeous photos I jacked!)

For dessert, I knew I wanted the South American Chocolate Ganache "caramelized banana, cocoa nib tuile" ($12). This is like the California Grill chocolate pudding cake reduced into the darkest possible chocolate truffle form. So dark, so decadent, so satisfying. 10/10

R didn't really want dessert as he was stuffed to the gills (har har) after his fish, but Christopher sold him on the exotic flavors in the Sorbet Tasting (I think we had Jack Fruit and Passion Fruit, but I am not certain) I do know this was $9 and served with "Kaffir Lime Syrup, Passion Fruit Curd, and Crunchy Vanilla Crouton". If I was paying OOP I would not have been satisfied with the portion for $9.00. For perspective, this is a tiny scoop of each sorbet and is the same price as a No Way Jose, which can be a whole meal for one person. I don't think we got this white stick garnish item but I really can't remember.

We were going to share a press pot, but Christopher, master of the platinum plan upsell, convinced us to try both varieties they had on the menu at the time and he would bring us to go cups for the coffee we didn't finish. As we both love coffee and love french press, this was not a hard proposition to agree with. We had two press pots $7.50 each with the remainder in to go cups.

Our plan paid $169.33 for the meal, we paid $15.60 out of pocket for alcoholic drinks, and our TIW card saved us $3.90.

On the way out, we checked out Nomad Lounge's outdoor seating to steal a glimpse at the Pandora bridge but nothing was visibly taking place so we moved on. We stopped in Creature Comforts so I could get my most desired souvenir (the "You Are Here" series starbucks mug for my favorite park) and we ended up picking up two delicious looking cupcakes to take back to the room. Two snack credits covered a value of $11.18 for the cupcakes.

Famous Cotton Top Tamarin Cupcake, Tamarin slightly worse for the wear after R viciously attacked his head:

This tasted like a chocolate cupcake.

AMAZING "Tree of Life Awakening" Cupcake that was like a strawberry funfetti so I am thinking of my friends @ariane37 and @ArielSRL because y'all need to try this and let me know how it stacks up against the BOG strawberry!!! I mean.. it was DELICIOUS and was magically rainbow-unicornish!!!

(Edit: just noticed you can see our "welcome back" note in this photo, fortunately with my last name just out of sight, but it was a cute touch)

Back at WL, we picked up our resort refillable mugs (plan paid $35.98 for this, but we only used them for coffee so I feel like we will never buy these again) and went to the room to rest. Despite our best attempts not to (and the disgusting amount of lunch we'd shovelled into our gullets) we ended up eating most of the cupcakes in the room that afternoon. Needless to say, the afternoon resulted in a nap.

Math in this post: tour ($191.70 for two), two credits for lunch ($169.33), two snack credits ($11.18), two refillable mugs ($35.98).

 

[ArielSRL]

OMG both of those look really, really good! I'll have to go back and read the full post as to see where you got them and if I can add them to my list!

Btw, I had no idea of your report so I will have to go back to page 1 and start reading it!

Also, are you located in GA?

 

[pepperandchips]

OMG both of those look really, really good! I'll have to go back and read the full post as to see where you got them and if I can add them to my list!

Btw, I had no idea of your report so I will have to go back to page 1 and start reading it!

Also, are you located in GA?

Yes, the cupcakes came from Creature Comforts (the Starbucks in Animal Kingdom) and were nicely packaged to go! I highly recommend them, at least the firefly one! Welcome to the party... for some reason I imagined you were here, maybe from reading your posts in other DR threads and in the Rumors of Light lounge!!! We live in Atlanta are you in GA too?

 

[ArielSRL]

Yes, the cupcakes came from Creature Comforts (the Starbucks in Animal Kingdom) and were nicely packaged to go! I highly recommend them, at least the firefly one! Welcome to the party... for some reason I imagined you were here, maybe from reading your posts in other DR threads and in the Rumors of Light lounge!!! We live in Atlanta are you in GA too?

Ok, good to know! I had on my list to try one from Kusafiri but I may have to hold out for that one....or have 2 in one day....

Yes, I probably should've already been here! But I'll make up for the slip up, I promise!

And yes, I live in Gwinnett! Are u in the city or suburbs?

 

[ArielSRL]

Okay, I had planned to make it all the way through what you have posted so far before commenting but I just couldn't!

We've stayed at the Wilderness Lodge before so we just went ahead and self parked and lugged our stuff into the main lobby before traipsing over to the villas building.

Yay for WL!! We will be at the villas for the first time in June!

we headed off to find our room, which was #5521, right off the elevator and overlooking the lake. It was a great location and had this lovely (?) view:

Good to see the view. I've been on touring plans and already picked my preferred location...3rd or 4th floor, right around 4531 would be perfect.

I had forgotten to request a non-enclosed balcony so we were in a dormer-type room so if you sat down on the balcony you couldn't see out.

I thought I had heard that about the 5th floor rooms...that is why I am hoping 4th floor for us.

I got a fruity drink, which is totally required poolside no matter what you normally drink...

We will be doing daily midday pool/rest breaks so this will be me in June! My DH says going to the pool isn't resting and relaxing so he is just going to stay in the room with the 2 yr old and nap....um, what is not relaxing about a drink by the pool??? Smh.

We had a burger and chicken nuggets from Roaring Forks and a second round of drinks

Again, this is exactly what I mentioned for us to do on our arrival day and DH mentioned not wanting to eat by the pool??? I was thinking combine meal/drinks/pool before a visit to DS. I truly do not understand this man.

where we had a lovely vantage point of the decor .

Beautiful!

"Caprese Flatbread - heirloom tomatoes, garlic, ricotta, EVOO, sea salt $13"

It looks wonderful. I plan to grab the Caprese from Roaring Fork but I doubt it is anything like this....more the usual QS fare, I'm sure.

We finished the meal with "Artist Point Cobbler - seasonal berries, black raspberry ice cream $13"

I am a huge berries and cobbler fan so this is right up my alley. I may have to grab one to go from Territory one day....yum!

to hear the lilting strains of the Electrical Water Pageant!

I would love this. I am going to try to time it so we see it from our room!

BTW, besides living in metro Atlanta, I am also a teacher!

 

[pepperandchips]

Ok, good to know! I had on my list to try one from Kusafiri but I may have to hold out for that one....or have 2 in one day....

Two in one day is totally acceptable at WDW as much as we love AK, I have never actually had anything from Kusafiri. It's always so packed over there that I usually just grab a drink from Dawa Bar or Harambe Market and try to find a little niche to post up and listen to Burudika. Come to think of it that would be the perfect time for a Kusafiri treat. WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?!

And yes, I live in Gwinnett! Are u in the city or suburbs?

We are in the city! Right now we live in a teeny tiny condo right on the beltline near Ponce City Market. It's great for now but I have to stop going to Disney so we can save for a house... I am in Gwinnett all the time for work. I work in Buckhead and R works for a school that rhymes with "fun hoodie" in the county that rhymes with... uhh... "knee scab" (that was a hard one to rhyme!). I don't want to post the real names since I don't want his students to ever be able to google my name and his school and find all his vacation info... he would die.

Okay, I had planned to make it all the way through what you have posted so far before commenting but I just couldn't!

I wouldn't be able to either. I have a big mouth... LOL

Yay for WL!! We will be at the villas for the first time in June!

WOOP WOOP!!!!

right around 4531 would be perfect.

I agree I already miss it. We LOVED the villas. LOVED!

We will be doing daily midday pool/rest breaks so this will be me in June! My DH says going to the pool isn't resting and relaxing so he is just going to stay in the room with the 2 yr old and nap....um, what is not relaxing about a drink by the pool??? Smh.

Again, this is exactly what I mentioned for us to do on our arrival day and DH mentioned not wanting to eat by the pool??? I was thinking combine meal/drinks/pool before a visit to DS. I truly do not understand this man.

Uh yeah, I wish it had stayed 70 degrees today, I might make myself an adult beverage and go sit by OUR pool tonight. Not as nice of theming but that is truly my idea of relaxation. Naps are good too though, especially if mom can go get pool dranks while hubby watches the littlest little plus, you lucky dog, you will get to try the new grill and bar!!!

It looks wonderful. I plan to grab the Caprese from Roaring Fork but I doubt it is anything like this....more the usual QS fare, I'm sure.

Well we didn't eat anything other than snacks after this day at Roaring Fork but I was impressed with the snacks. I actually think the Deluxe QS is pretty good food. We also really really like the Contempo Cafe which is just a short boat ride away at the Contemporary! Their QS food is more like "Table Service Lite" especially since they bring it to you!

I would love this. I am going to try to time it so we see it from our room!

It was great to enjoy it from our balcony. I was so surprised I freaked R out by getting all overexcited he was like WHAT IS WRONG!!!

BTW, besides living in metro Atlanta, I am also a teacher!

BLESS YOU I could never ever do that job. You guys work so so hard. Pool dranks are even more necessary for our educators!!!

 

[fallonkendra]

I don't like beets and I don't much care for seafood, and I certainly don't care for rubber

You are my spirit animal.

And I hated the salmon because I hate the way salmon tastes and I have texture issues with squishy stuff and this was squishy and salmony and I couldn't get over it.

Yes. To all of this. I actually grew up in a little rural community known for salmon fishing (people travel from all over the world just to fish there), and I grew up hating salmon. I jokingly tell people I moved across the country just because I didn't fit in with all the seafood-loving locals of my hometown. Fittingly, I did end up moving to a province known for it's beef - which I love.

I love the idea of Victoria and Albert's, but I'm so picky I don't see it being worth the money. I would love to surprise Luke with a reservation next year on our wedding trip, since he would love it, but I'm not sure if it would make sense for us. Can you customize the menu at all ahead of time? Luke has a mild shellfish allergy, and doesn't like lamb or really fishy-tasting fish, but other than that he will try anything. Then there's me...I will only eat pork, chicken, turkey and beef, and only if they are well-done (yes, even beef...).

Your meal at Tiffins looks fantastic (just a little too rare for me haha).

 

[pepperandchips]

New Year's Eve Eve Continued (or 12/30 part two):

We had a dining reservation at 6:00 for California Grill as I knew that the Magic Kingdom would celebrate New Year's Eve two nights in a row, starting with its first of the four planned fireworks displays at 7:30 on December 30.

California Grill remains very high on my list of Disney Dining favorites and is probably the restaurant at which we've eaten most - we eat here nearly every trip and each meal remains consistently good and we've had excellent service at 90% of our meals here as well. I have grown to prefer brunch over dinner but unfortunately there are no fireworks at brunch and they were not having brunch on New Year's Day so I had to "settle" for a scrumptious dinner.

We were right on time for our reservation and had an interior two top table with a decent view and were greeted with this lovely gesture on arrival:

I love the Mickey confetti so I was happy about that. We had a very nice server who was very efficient. R had some questions about entrees and the server was happy to assist. For appetizers, we made our selections fairly easily.

R went with our favorite sushi roll, the Dragon Roll ($25) which is "Spicy and Tataki Tuna, Shrimp Tempura, Avocado, Dragon Sauce, Hijiki-Shirataki Salad". This is always a hit with us and it was light and refreshing. I love the pickled cucumber salad stuff they put on the plate.

I went with something I'd never had before at California Grill and opted for the Selection of Farmhouse and Artisanal Cheeses ($21). If you look closely you can see the stem of my wine glass - I had more of that amazing Merry Edwards sauvignon blanc I'd tried at V&A's for the first time the night before. Our vintage at V&A's was one year older but this one was still good. Sorry no good pic but it looked like a glass of white wine

Every time I order a cheese plate I mean to take a photo of the paper with the descriptions but somehow never do. I found the following list on the Disney parks blog and it sounds approximately correct to what I had, though I visited about 3 weeks prior to the parks blog entry so I may be slightly off. Here's what the parks blog says this is "Barely Buzzed, an espresso and lavender hand-rubbed cheese with notes of butterscotch and caramel with a smooth, creamy texture; Moses Sleeper, a creamy, buttery, bright and savory cow’s milk cheese; Truffle Tremor, a bloomy-rind black truffle goat cheese; Moliterno, a firm, Italian sheep’s milk cheese; Oregon Blue, a semi-soft, raw milk blue cheese."

I have to say this was my favorite cheese offering of the trip. The portions were very large and I really enjoyed the variety here - on the far left was the espresso rubbed cheese called "Barely Buzzed" which I really liked and the bleu variety here was very very good. I don't even think we finished all of this but again these were very large portions for a cheese plate. Maybe a couple of ounces of each even though it doesn't look that big in the photo.

Above is R's entree, the Seafood Ramen, "Maine Lobster Tail, Wild Gulf Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Ramen, crisp Vegetables, Fragrant Broth" ($53). R really enjoyed this as he is both a seafood fan and an asian noodles fan. I thought it was okay but I am glad he got this on the dining plan as I don't think it was worth $53! He might though. He really liked it a lot.

I decided to branch out (LOL okay I guess it is not branching out that far, but it wasn't the filet) and ordered the Slow-braised Bison Short Rib, served with "Piquillo-Cheddar Grits, Autumn Root Vegetables, Gooseberries, Red Wine Jus" ($61). The terrible thing is... I remember liking this, I just don't remember much else about it. I guess that is a hazard when you have so many amazing meals, that the "great but not amazing" meals get lost in the haze. I remember really liking the grits and feeling like this was a rich, comforting dish... and really there is rarely a short rib I don't love, but I guess I can't recommend this since it was kind of forgettable. It looks like this has been replaced on the current menu by a beef short rib. Honestly the fact that it was bison didn't add much to the dish so the beef is probably a good choice also.

It was nearing 7:30 as we finished our dinner, and I wanted to get a good spot on the viewing deck so we scooted outside and toward the rear of the further back viewing deck. I was surprised that it did not get more crowded out there but I wanted to be close to an audio speaker and have my desired vantage. Soon it was fireworks time and we were treated to this view:

As the fireworks finale came to a close, Mickey and Goofy came over the speakers and started a countdown. The restaurant turned off the audio so I figured that they had messed up and put on the audio for the midnight fireworks by mistake and that the NYE tag would be saved for the second fireworks show of the night. R had to visit the restroom so we both went back inside with the masses... well NOPE the fireworks were not over! as soon as I got back inside the sky EXPLODED with fireworks. I am tearing up now just thinking about how beautiful it was!

Here is the one crappy photo I got with my finger in it as I was totally not prepared for the perimeter bursts and total grand finale insanity that ensued. I wept a bit at our table (thankful that R was in the bathroom and couldn't see my ridiculousness!)

We were stuffed... TOTALLY stuffed after our huge rich lunch, two cupcakes in the room, and an early (for us) dinner, so after some discussion with our server, we ordered two chocolate pudding cakes to go. ($28 for both). We had contemplated getting the fritters but didn't think those would be good later and since we know from past experience that the pudding cake is good later, we opted just to get two of those. One actually made it all the way back to Atlanta with us! And of course they were rich, super fudgy, and delicious. That is my favorite WDW dessert for sure!

Our platinum package paid $200.22 for this meal, and we paid for a few alcoholic beverages out of pocket, where tables in wonderland saved us $11.80.

However, our evening was far from over!

I had been a bit concerned about the timing with dinner and our other plans this evening as our next reservation was for our Illuminations Fireworks Cruise, launching from the Yacht Club recreation area!! We took an Uber from the Contemporary to the Yacht Club, which took almost 20 minutes due to re-routed traffic for the holiday fireworks. It was $8.82 well spent not to deal with buses in my opinion. Anyway, we arrived before 9:00 at the Yacht Club and we had been instructed to check in at 10:00 for the fireworks cruise. We checked out the holiday decor in the Yacht Club and grabbed cocktails from the Ale & Compass lounge before heading out to the Marina to see where we needed to check in. We got checked in and introduced to our captain, who told us another family was also booked on our cruise and that we would need to wait for them before departing. Our captain encouraged us to get a drink from the Ale & Compass (haha, like we hadn't thought of that!) and use the restroom one more time, so we did and came back to the Marina and waited on the other family some more. Just before we were about to leave their rear ends, they showed up. They were super apologetic and it was sort of a no-harm-no-foul. So we had the fastest ever jaunt around Crescent Lake past DHS and were the last boat to tether up in the World Showcase lagoon where we were treated to this view:

and this one

This was an incredible experience as Illuminations is my favorite nighttime spectacular at WDW and the view plus being out of the crowds, snuggled up on a boat under some blankets with my honey was an absolutely fabulous experience. The other family that shared the cruise with us was a larger family - maybe a party of 6 or 7? So I am not sure how to value the fireworks cruise experience for us. If you get a private fireworks cruise (which I was not expecting, as the platinum plan usually shares with other platinum plan participants) the cost is $346.13. Our cruise was shared and also included refreshments, which we did not partake in. The other family didn't hinder our experience or make us cramped, so I am going to allocate half the cost of the cruise to our plan for my math, so I am going to say our plan paid $173.06 for this experience and I would definitely consider doing it again for a special occasion.

We used Uber for our transportation back to the Wilderness Lodge after the fireworks, which was $9.33 and took 11 minutes. We were dropped off at 11:22, and headed back to our room. We made ourselves comfortable and went out on our balcony where we enjoyed our THIRD set of fireworks for the evening.

I have to say, this was the best view I have ever had in a "standard" room! The New Year's fireworks are simply incredible and it's all but impossible to explain how amazing they are if you haven't seen them in person. I was in Disney heaven, and still had plenty more awesome to look forward to!

Math in this post: 2 credits for California Grill (plan paid $200.22), Illuminations Fireworks Cruise ($173.06 estimate of value included by plan)

Up Next: In room dining, and a segway tour through Fort Wilderness!

 

[ShelbyWagon]

Just caught up! I am super jealous of your V&A experience. It looked absolutely amazing. I can't wait to try it myself! Your beef dinner at Tiffins has me drooling as well. I've been there for lunch but now I'm going to have to add dinner to the list.

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

What a perfectly magical evening! You guys really know how to do it up at WDW

I soooo hope we can see fireworks from our room at WL in September!

 

[cocofifi]

I just stumbled upon your trip report a few days ago. I'm so enjoying it! You had me "room dranks."

 

[ArielSRL]

Two in one day is totally acceptable at WDW

I like your thinking...and totally agree with it!

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING WITH MY LIFE?!

Exactly...lol!

We are in the city! Right now we live in a teeny tiny condo right on the beltline near Ponce City Market. It's great for now but I have to stop going to Disney so we can save for a house... I am in Gwinnett all the time for work. I work in Buckhead and R works for a school that rhymes with "fun hoodie" in the county that rhymes with... uhh... "knee scab" (that was a hard one to rhyme!). I don't want to post the real names since I don't want his students to ever be able to google my name and his school and find all his vacation info... he would die.

I'm sure it is nice to live in the city. But yes, a house will be wonderful, as well. And yay, I got all the rhymes! Haha. I do understand about the anonymity needed, especially with teaching older kids. I teach first grade, so I don't have the exact same worries...but parents, though!

I wouldn't be able to either. I have a big mouth... LOL

Me, too...haha.

Naps are good too though

Yes, I love a good nap. And I am really good with power naps. So I figure, pool/drink time, power nap time, then shower time = a good break!

plus, you lucky dog, you will get to try the new grill and bar!!!

I am definitely interested to check it out!

Well we didn't eat anything other than snacks after this day at Roaring Fork but I was impressed with the snacks. I actually think the Deluxe QS is pretty good food.

Good to know!

We also really really like the Contempo Cafe which is just a short boat ride away at the Contemporary! Their QS food is more like "Table Service Lite" especially since they bring it to you!

I actually plan to hit up Contempo one day for a cupcake or two...lol. I've heard they have some good ones.

BLESS YOU I could never ever do that job. You guys work so so hard. Pool dranks are even more necessary for our educators!!!

Thank you! And yes, I have teaching and being a mommy to thank for my nightly wine....lol.

 

[ArielSRL]

I think I may need to order a cheese plate from somewhere at Disney...though we aren't doing any signature dining so I'll have to really scour some of the menus. I love me some cheese and those sound wonderful!

I've done California Grill once and enjoyed it.

All the fireworks look incredible and I bet that cruise was just breathtaking.

Great update!

 

[nco91590]

I have chills from those fireworks!!!!!!!!!

How are you ever going to top this trip??

 

[princessemsmom]

What a great night! I am thinking of booking the Illuminations cruise in May - there will be 7 of us so the $300+ does not seem to bad.

We are also going to try California Grill brunch! I am beyond excited for that!