Deluxe Diners - Was it worth it?

[laura74]

Great reviews and pics! Your daughter is adorable!

I'm fascinated by where you live. I'd love to hear more about it. Were you born there or did you relocate?

 

[Disney owl]

great reports

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Great reviews and pics! Your daughter is adorable!

I'm fascinated by where you live. I'd love to hear more about it. Were you born there or did you relocate?

I was born in New Brunswick (Canada) but I lived in Cambridge Bay (a small arctic community) and Yellowknife (the capital of the North West Territories) in the 1970's as a child. But my husband and I moved to Iqaluit and then Pond Inlet (that's the really high arctic) in 2001 but moved back south when I was pregnant with my daughter. Then we moved back to Iqaluit in 2006. We bought a house so we'll be here for a while. Maybe We love it. Life is very different here, a much slower pace. We fly out twice a year for vacation; to shop and get our fill of fast food

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Pecos Bill’s Cafe

We cancelled our San Angel Inn ADR because we decided to head back to the hotel to relax and then go to MK to see Spectromagic, Tinker Bell’s flight and Wishes. At 4:30pm we went to Pecos Bills. It wasn’t busy at all. There was no line up at the ordering machines or the counter.

We gave Pecos Bill’s the following ratings:

No characters

4/5 Service: The CMs at the counter were just ok but the CM in the dining room was super friendly and even brought DD5 a free chocolate chip cookie, which she did eat.

4/5 Atmosphere: It was quite dark in the dining room but we liked the seating. We sat indoors but the place was practically empty so there was plenty of room inside and out.

4/5 Food: We ordered 2 deluxe burgers with fries, got carrot cakes for dessert and cokes. The burgers were hot and huge. The bun was whole wheat and very fresh. Since I saw so many complaints on here about the buns it was way better than I expected. (Actually we got a horrible stale bun on our next visit so I guess it just depends on the day you visit.) We thought this was a great choice for a quick counter service meal. The fixings bar was great with; lettuce, tomatoes, fried mushrooms and onions, pickles and hot peppers. The best of all was the cheese sauce for our fries. We didn’t order anything for DD5 because we didn’t think there wasn’t anything on the menu that she would eat. But she had a half a dozen fries and she actually ate half my burger which is the very first time we could convince her to try more than one bite of a hamburger. DD5 and DH shared a carrot cake for dessert, they liked it. We put the other one in the back of the stroller. Which unfortunately we forgot about and found a few days later and had to throw it out.


Lounge Food

It took us till 9:15pm to fight the crowds out of the park and back to the Contemporary. We stopped at the lounge to see what they had to offer. There were cans of Minute Maid lemonade added to the regular choice of coke, diet coke and sprite. There was often apple and orange juice as well. There were lots of snacks. That night we tried; chocolate chip cookies, mini parfaits, chocolate mousse, lemon tarts, little cups with peanut butter and jelly and little slices of baguette. There might have been more choices but I seem to have written down only what we tried. DD5 and I had a nice pb&j snack and DH enjoyed the sweets. The free alcohol was wasted on us because I don’t drink and DH rarely does. He did enjoy a cold beer while watching the fireworks from our balcony a couple of nights. There always seemed to be lots of alcohol available in the evenings perhaps because there never seemed to be anyone in the lounge. At least one Club CM mentioned to DH that he could always ask a CM to bring more beer out if his favourite wasn’t on display. But that wasn’t ever necessary since we don’t really drink. I must say we felt drinkers might have gotten more $ benefit from the free upgrade since I’m sure alcohol is probably expensive to buy at the resort. I never noticed but DH said they even brought out 3 or 4 liquors later in the evening. We really enjoyed the free pop and juice though. It was so convenient to just stop at the lounge on the way back to our room each evening to pick up some drinks and see if there were any interesting snacks. We ate a lot of bananas from the lounge. DD5 needs to eat something as soon as she wakes up so the free access to fresh fruit, nuts, pretzels, etc. was awesome.

 

[vinotinto]

It took us till 9:15pm to fight the crowds out of the park and back to the Contemporary.

At what time did Spectro/Wishes end?


Reading all you installments. I hope you let us know your favorites at the end!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

At what time did Spectro/Wishes end?

Spectro was at 7pm (only a couple nights) and Wishes was at 8pm the whole week we were there Jan 25th - Feb1st. We only watched in the park once, the rest of the time we watched from our balcony. If you watched close you could ever see Tinker Bell's flight.


Reading all you installments. I hope you let us know your favorites at the end!

I'll give my top favourites at the end

 

[WAHkoMom]

I just found your thread and I'm really enjoying your reports! We are going in November and I want to try some new restaurants this time, so this is really helpful. Narcoossee's is now on my list of ADRs to make in May! We are from New England, so seafood is a hit with 3 out of the 4 of us.

Keep up the good work!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

January 29th – Friday – Animal Kingdom

8:05am ADR - Donald Safari Breakfast
We took a cab to the park from our hotel and arrived at 7:45am. We went right in and stopped on our way to the restaurant to take a few pictures.

Checked In: 8:00am
Seated: 8:05am
There were only a couple of families ahead of us in the photo line. We were informed by one of the handlers that Donald did not sign anything. If you wanted a signature you would have to go to Camp Minnie/Mickey when it opened. We already had an autograph from Chef Mickey’s so it didn’t really matter to us. But IMO when people are paying that much for breakfast, they should at least be able to get an autograph from the main attraction. If we hadn’t already had Donald’s autograph I would have been ticked. DH couldn’t believe that we couldn’t get an autograph so when we were leaving there was no one waiting to get a picture taken so DH went and asked but they said no autographs.
Left: 8:55am

We gave the Donald Safari Breakfast the following ratings:

5/5 Characters: Our table was just inside the door to our section of the restaurant. We were the first table to see the characters. There was quick Jungle Dance with the characters and the kids got to use instruments. But it was over so quick we weren’t able to get any good photos but DD5 loved it. We have an awful camera which we will replace before our next trip. We really went here because my DD5 loved Daisy Duck and it seemed like this was the only breakfast that included Daisy.

5/5 Service: Veronica was our server and she was great. She was very nice and professional. She also brought us lot of juice refills which was good because the jungle juice was delicious and she cleared the empty plates efficiently.

5/5 Atmosphere: The restaurant was nicely decorated and themed. The tables weren’t too close for us. We bought the family picture with Donald as we did at every character meal. Since it was my DD5 first trip we couldn’t resist getting the photo packages.

5/5 Food: Definitely had the biggest selection and we loved the station set up. Everything was hot, fresh and tasty. They even had chocolate covered donuts like Tim Hortons (the only time we saw them on a buffet). DD5 insisted that she wanted it but I don’t think she took a bite. I also like how the food was in a separate room from the dining tables. For some reason I only have a couple of pictures of our plates, probably because we were trying to gobble up our food between characters. I think these were DH and mine for some reason I didn’t get a picture of DD5. I’m sure it had scrambled eggs, sausage and fruit which I’m sure she never touched as usual.

That’s one reason I enjoy family style meals, at least you don’t have to get up and down while watching for the characters. I’d like to blame the character distraction for my DD5 food consumption but she’s just a very small eater, unlike her parents

Bottom Line:

We will definitely be back next year on our Animal Kingdom day. It was nice to have some different breakfast choices and it was definitely the biggest buffet. We really liked the stations as well so you didn’t have to wait in a line to get one item. Though the morning we were there it wasn’t busy so there were no lines at the buffet.

 

[Northern_Julie]

Just a quick hello from Yellowknife. I am doing the Deluxe Dining for the first part a split stay to do some signature dining and having at least two sit down meals.
I jumped up and down to see a report from a Northerner. I get a small fast food fix...looking for the variety and as you show the variety of fresh fruit. Felt it would be less than neighborly not to say hello.

 

[kayrosek]

Great reviews so far. We loved our Tusker House Breakfast as well.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Just a quick hello from Yellowknife. I am doing the Deluxe Dining for the first part a split stay to do some signature dining and having at least two sit down meals.
I jumped up and down to see a report from a Northerner. I get a small fast food fix...looking for the variety and as you show the variety of fresh fruit. Felt it would be less than neighborly not to say hello.

My family lived in Yellowknife in the 1970's when I was a kid but DH says it's changed a lot DH has been there a few times passing through for business or stuck because of weather (you know how that is). I loved the DxDDP because we love to eat I'm sure you can relate, eating is big part of our vacations. Eating in a "restaurant" that isn't part of hotel

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

My best friend was just down from Yellowknife and she ate ALOT especially fruit and ice cream due to the expensive food items in grocery stores! Did you enjoy your escape to the warm?

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

My best friend was just down from Yellowknife and she ate ALOT especially fruit and ice cream due to the expensive food items in grocery stores! Did you enjoy your escape to the warm?

We had the best vacation ever We are planning to go back again next January. We loved the MK view at CR and we even got a free upgrade to 12th floor club level. We didn't really mind the "chilly" weather but DD5 only got to go swimming twice.

We had great service at all of the restaurants. I am already working on my ADR list for next year I think we'll be doing the DxDDP again but I have to convince DH

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

11:30am Lunch ADR - Yak & Yeti

Checked In: 11:23am
Seated: 11:23am
Left: 12:50pm

We gave the Yak & Yeti the following ratings:

No Characters

5/5 Service: Our server’s name was Dave and he was terrific. He took our DxDP card before we even ordered because he said it took longer than normal to process the transaction because Y & Y is not a Disney owned restaurant. Dave was attentive and very kind when DD5 spilled her drink all over the table and floor. They didn’t have kid’s cups with lids, when I saw the giant glass I knew we’d be lucky to finish without an accident.

4/5 Atmosphere: We were seated upstairs in a corner table by the windows. It was so nice being able to watch all the action on the street below. It was quiet since there was no one seated in our area until right before we left. It was the only restaurant where I found it a bit chilly and I had jeans and a sweatshirt on. I really didn’t like that the bathroom was on the main level; very inconvenient for families with small children. DD5 had to go during the meal even though we went before heading the restaurant. We visited every restaurant washroom; I think she just wants to check them out.

5/5 Food: When we ordered our appetizers we just assumed DD5 didn’t get one since they weren’t listed on her menu. But Dave encouraged us to order a 3rd adult appetizer since there weren’t kiddie choices. We did; big mistake we were stuffed before our entrees even arrived.

We ordered:
3/5 Wok fried Green Beans – Everyone raved about them here and I thought we’d love them. They were nice and crisp and dipping sauce was great but we weren’t wowed. They were just OK for us, I don’t think we would order them again. I thought DD5 would like them because she loves green beans but she wouldn’t touch them (she doesn’t like anything breaded).

4/5 Egg Rolls – They were nice and hot with lots of filling (veggies and pork). The sauce was tasty. They were huge though, way too big for an appetizer. We need to figure out a way to order way less food next year. Maybe we’ll pay OOP and just order less. The portions are just crazy huge and we are big eaters.

5/5 Chicken Wings – We actually liked these the best out of the three choices. The sauce was delicious and DH loved the cucumber slaw. If we ordered an appetizer again these would be our first pick.

For entrees we ordered:
I ordered the steak with shrimp and it was fantastic. I asked for my steak to be well done and it was cooked perfectly. It was melt in your mouth, very tender. Really the shrimp were just OK in comparison to the steak. The rice was also great. I loved this meal and will definitely order it again next year 5/5

DH had the ribs and loved them. I tried them and they were great, some of the best ribs we’ve ever had. They were tender and falling off the bone and the sauce was so good. DH will definitely order them again next year. He said the coleslaw was “different” but he ate it 5/5.

DD5 got the Chicken bites with rice and apple sauce. She never touched the chicken but loved the rice. We took the apple sauce with us and she ate it a couple weeks later at her grandparents. She did love DH’s ribs and my steak though so she did get some protein that day. I would give her meal 5/5.

For dessert we ordered:
5/5 Cream Cheese Wontons – We each ordered them. What a waste, I barely touched mine I was so stuffed I just couldn’t. But DH thought they were great and would definitely get them again. He said it was his favourite dessert of the whole trip.

DD5 got plain chocolate pudding and loved it. Sorry I don’t have a picture but that’s what my notes say.

Bottom Line:

We will definitely be back next year but I think we will plan on Donald’s Safari Breakfast and then Yak & Yeti for an early supper. It was way too much food for lunch. I would say the portions were the biggest of any restaurant we visited. Next year we will pay OOP and share one appetizer and dessert. We’ll each order our entrees and just share with DD. I’ll bet we’ll still be stuffed. This is a restaurant where I would encourage sharing for most families. The receipt said the meal would have cost $106.39 but for us - 3 meal credits; excellent value for excellent food.

 

[vinotinto]

This is a restaurant where I would encourage sharing for most families.

your report since you are hitting all the restaurants I have on my ADr list. Taking notes as we are planning Y&Y for lunch on our AK day too. Those plates certainly look shareable!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

Another Magical Moment Alert

We cancelled out 5:40pm Supper ADR for Japan’s Teppan Edo and headed to MK instead of Epcot as we originally planned.

While we were at MK Winnie the Pooh had a 20min wait posted so we decided to get fast passes, I know we were spoiled. So when I put our park tickets into the FP machine it spit out “Surprise Fast Passes” for Mickey’s Philharmonic. Now I know we didn’t really “need” fast passes because mostly everything was walk on including Mickey’s Philharmonic. But it was so neat, such a little thing just made my day. I can only imagine how happy someone would be if that happened during a busy time of year!

We left MK and were back in our room by 7:05pm. We ordered room service right before we watched the fireworks at 8pm from our balcony. The food arrived shortly after the fireworks. Because room service is 2 credits each we used 4 meal credits all together. We didn’t order a separate meal for DD5 because as you all know by now she wouldn’t have eaten it.

I’m not sure what we ordered for drinks because I didn’t write it down. We didn’t get pictures because DH had put the camera on to charge.

We got 2 shrimp cocktails for appetizers and they were great. Nice big fresh shrimp with a tasty cocktail sauce 5/5. They were served on a hug bed of lettuce which was a waste since we didn’t eat it. Of course DH was appalled since lettuce is super expensive and hard to get in the arctic

We ordered a meatball and onion pizza, it counted as 4 credits and it was nasty. We would never order the pizza again. The sauce was bland and the meat was little tiny cut up bits and the onions appeared to have been added raw on top after the pizza was cooked. We were disappointed and thought it really lacked flavour 0/5. Seriously, it was some of the worst pizza we’ve ever tasted. We literally never even ate a whole piece each, what a waste.

We ordered the Carrot Cake and the Butterfinger Cheesecake for dessert and they were both great, highly recommended. We would definitely order them again 5/5.

Bottom Line: / for the pizza

We would definitely get room service again but we would NEVER order the pizza again, it was nasty. The meal was nicely presented and delivered quickly. The shrimp and desserts were fantastic.

 

[Northern_Julie]

My family lived in Yellowknife in the 1970's when I was a kid but DH says it's changed a lot DH has been there a few times passing through for business or stuck because of weather (you know how that is). I loved the DxDDP because we love to eat I'm sure you can relate, eating is big part of our vacations. Eating in a "restaurant" that isn't part of hotel

Yes very differant than the 70's from the pictures I have seen. But after 5 years it is home.
Yes I feel really food obsessed when I travel south. I have more variety in Yellowknife but it is pricey and I still have cravings...I tend to eat out on my community travel (Inuvik, Smith and Simpson) and get sick of it.

Well I have Narcosses on the list now! We were already thinking Yak and Yeti.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Great updates. Drooling over the Yak and Yeti pictures. We will be trying Yak and Yeti on our next trip. Sorry for the bad room service pizza.

 

[iheartjacksparrow]

11:30am Lunch ADR - Yak & Yeti

Checked In: 11:23am
Seated: 11:23am
Left: 12:50pm

We gave the Yak & Yeti the following ratings:

No Characters

5/5 Service: Our server’s name was Dave and he was terrific. He took our DxDP card before we even ordered because he said it took longer than normal to process the transaction because Y & Y is not a Disney owned restaurant. Dave was attentive and very kind when DD5 spilled her drink all over the table and floor. They didn’t have kid’s cups with lids, when I saw the giant glass I knew we’d be lucky to finish without an accident.

4/5 Atmosphere: We were seated upstairs in a corner table by the windows. It was so nice being able to watch all the action on the street below. It was quiet since there was no one seated in our area until right before we left. It was the only restaurant where I found it a bit chilly and I had jeans and a sweatshirt on. I really didn’t like that the bathroom was on the main level; very inconvenient for families with small children. DD5 had to go during the meal even though we went before heading the restaurant. We visited every restaurant washroom; I think she just wants to check them out.

5/5 Food: When we ordered our appetizers we just assumed DD5 didn’t get one since they weren’t listed on her menu. But Dave encouraged us to order a 3rd adult appetizer since there weren’t kiddie choices. We did; big mistake we were stuffed before our entrees even arrived.

We ordered:
3/5 Wok fried Green Beans – Everyone raved about them here and I thought we’d love them. They were nice and crisp and dipping sauce was great but we weren’t wowed. They were just OK for us, I don’t think we would order them again. I thought DD5 would like them because she loves green beans but she wouldn’t touch them (she doesn’t like anything breaded).

4/5 Egg Rolls – They were nice and hot with lots of filling (veggies and pork). The sauce was tasty. They were huge though, way too big for an appetizer. We need to figure out a way to order way less food next year. Maybe we’ll pay OOP and just order less. The portions are just crazy huge and we are big eaters.

5/5 Chicken Wings – We actually liked these the best out of the three choices. The sauce was delicious and DH loved the cucumber slaw. If we ordered an appetizer again these would be our first pick.

For entrees we ordered:
I ordered the steak with shrimp and it was fantastic. I asked for my steak to be well done and it was cooked perfectly. It was melt in your mouth, very tender. Really the shrimp were just OK in comparison to the steak. The rice was also great. I loved this meal and will definitely order it again next year 5/5

DH had the ribs and loved them. I tried them and they were great, some of the best ribs we’ve ever had. They were tender and falling off the bone and the sauce was so good. DH will definitely order them again next year. He said the coleslaw was “different” but he ate it 5/5.

DD5 got the Chicken bites with rice and apple sauce. She never touched the chicken but loved the rice. We took the apple sauce with us and she ate it a couple weeks later at her grandparents. She did love DH’s ribs and my steak though so she did get some protein that day. I would give her meal 5/5.

For dessert we ordered:
5/5 Cream Cheese Wontons – We each ordered them. What a waste, I barely touched mine I was so stuffed I just couldn’t. But DH thought they were great and would definitely get them again. He said it was his favourite dessert of the whole trip.

DD5 got plain chocolate pudding and loved it. Sorry I don’t have a picture but that’s what my notes say.

Bottom Line:

We will definitely be back next year but I think we will plan on Donald’s Safari Breakfast and then Yak & Yeti for an early supper. It was way too much food for lunch. I would say the portions were the biggest of any restaurant we visited. Next year we will pay OOP and share one appetizer and dessert. We’ll each order our entrees and just share with DD. I’ll bet we’ll still be stuffed. This is a restaurant where I would encourage sharing for most families. The receipt said the meal would have cost $106.39 but for us - 3 meal credits; excellent value for excellent food.

Sooo glad to hear good reviews about this! I was nervous about going here since I haven't heard much about it, but my DBF insisted we go! The pictures you took make it look great and that dessert looks amazing!
Thank you for such great reviews...keep it up!

 

[Cdn Gal]

Keep it coming- excited that you get to eat all of this food. DH is from Queen Charlotte Islands- remote BC where you can see Alaska from the beach. He lived in Alert for awhile and when I was visiting him I was shocked at the price of food. You know you hear about it but to experience it is another thing! Love your posts!