Did we survive 11 days of DxDP? Upd 3/24 California Grill

[debrapagliasotti]

Hello fellow foodies

This is a dining review for our trip that took place Dec 18-28, 2012. We were on DxDP the entire trip, plus we were also staying CL at BW.

We typically did 3 TS meals a day...a few signature restraunts...a few CL offerings...and snacks -- we had 120 snack credits during our trip. What the heck would we use all of those on?? Stick around and find out!

So, who are we??

Me - Debra -- I love Italian food, good Mexican food, salmon, lobster, steak.

DH - Bo -- His family is from Italy, so obviously he loves Italian food, steak.

DS11 - Hunter -- Pizza, pasta, Mexican food.

DD9 - Harper -- Cheese, chocolate. We listed her as age 10 for our reservation that way she would be considered a "Disney adult" for our trip and could order off the adult menu.

DS4 - Jaxon -- Pizza, spaghetti.

DS3 - Evan -- Pizza, cheese, chocolate.

But, come on...lets face it, you aren't here to see us, you are here for the food!

The next post will have a listing of everywhere we ate and as I update I will add the link there.

So, lets bring on the food, grub, chow. Grab some Mickey popcorn and enjoy the food porn!!
​

 

[debrapagliasotti]

If you are interested in hearing the rest of our trip details, the TR can be found HERE

Here is where we dined during our vacation --

Chefs de France (L)
Coral Reef (D)
Snacks - Dec 18, 19
Hollywood & Vine (B)
Sci Fi -- cancelled & used snack credits for nachos (L)
Via Napoli (D)
Crystal Palace (B)
Snacks - Dec 20
Liberty Tree Tavern (L)
Chef Mickey (D)
Kona (B)
T-Rex (L)
Yachtsman (D)
Snacks - Dec 21, 22
Tusker House (B)
Yak & Yeti (L)
Whispering Canyon Cafe (D)
Cinderella's Royal Table (B)
Inkeepers Lounge evening offerings
Ohana (D)
Akershus (B)
Le Cellier (L)
Tutto Italia (D)
Ohana (B)
Spirit of Aloha (D)
Tamu Tamu (L)
Snacks - Dec 23, 24, 25, 26, 27
California Grill (D)
Cape May -- cancelled and used snack credits (B)
San Angel (L)
Snacks

..

 

[debrapagliasotti]

We arrived at WDW on Dec 18 and headed straight to MVMCP and only ate popcorn and cookies when we were there, so, our first "real" meal at WDW was the following afternoon at Le Chefs de France.

We had a 12pm ADR (in hopes of seeing Remy at 1230p). We checked in about 10 min early and were seated right at 12pm and Sophie was our server. She was very nice and did a good job of explaining the menu and giving suggestions.

Since we were on DxDP we all ordered apps.

Hunter & I both ordered the Lobster Bisque. I thought this was delicious. Very nice flavor, large pieces of lobster. Hunter declared this as "the best thing he ate all trip!"

DH ordered escargot. Casserole of Burgundian escargots baked in parsley and garlic butter. Not something he typically orders, but I had never tried it, so he got it so I could sample. He ate one and said they were fine. Hunter tried one and absolutely hated it. Harper would not go near them. I thought they were very nice. Good garlic flavor. There were 6 on the dish, I had 4 of them.

Harper ordered the cheese plate. Imported cheese board with raisin and walnut bread. Sadly, I do not have the names of the cheeses. Harper liked a couple of them, but did not care for the others. DH and I sampled the cheeses and thought the flavors were quite nice.

Both little boys had the cheese puff pastry. I did not sample this, but they both ate it all, so I guess they enjoyed it. This was served with a small salad, they ate the tomato.

For our entrees, again Hunter and I ordered the same thing. Quiche Lorraine - Ham & cheese. The famous ham & cheese quiche served with a mixed green salad. This was quite nice. Nice flavor. I was getting quite full so I did not have more than a bite of the salad. This was Hunter's first time trying quiche and he enjoyed it as well.

DH, Bo ordered Croque monsieur - Ham and cheese sandwich. The classic French toasted ham and cheese sandwich served with a green salad. DH did not give me much more than "it was good".

Harper ordered Macaroni baked with cream and Gruyère cheese. She really enjoyed this, but couldnt eat it all because it was so rich. I tried a bit of it and I have to agree with her. I dont think I could eat a whole serving of this!

The little boys both had the same thing. Breaded chicken strips served with pasta. They are not big fans of chicken nuggets/strips, so we took off the chicken in hopes they would eat the pasta, but they really didnt touch it. I think they were probably full from their appetizer.

At this time Sophie came by and asked what we wanted for dessert. I was stuffed and did not order anything. Bo was also full and just ordered coffee as his dessert. The kids all got dessert.

Harper ordered chocolate mousse. She loves pretty much anything chocolate, so she had no complaints about this dessert.

Hunter ordered Fresh strawberry and cream cake with raspberry sauce and strawberry sorbet. He loves strawberries, so this was perfect. I did try a small bite and this was very nice. Light and fresh tasting.

Both little boys had the chocolate chip cookie. This was quite large. Both boys loved it.

2 iced teas, 2 sprites, 1 OJ, 1 apple juice

Total cost before automatic 18% gratuity added $192.61, 6 credits used

All in all we were all quite happy with our meal at Chefs. Remy was a little late, but super cute -- and his handler...HILARIOUS!! We would definately return here again.

 

[jabead]

I'm here!

And looking forward to reading the "unabridged" version.

 

[Emteach]

Subscribing, looking forward to following along! We ate at some of the same places on our last trip

 

[DancinDaisyDuck]

Subbin! Glad you enjoyed your meal at Chefs, it's one of my favorites!

 

[wiigirl]

Subscribing....those food pics are great, making me hungry.

 

[houstonmama]

Subbing..Great pics . Looking forward to seeing lots more

 

[blairzo]

Subbing! We're also hoping to survive 10 nights of DxDP in April!

 

[Ro Z]

Love Chefs! Glad you had a nice meal. Sooo much food no wonder you couldn't handle dessert. But the creme brulee is the best in the World. Maybe next time! Thanks for the pics and review!!

 

[CaliBear]

This looks like an exciting dining report! Can't wait for more!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I'm in! I'm a big fan of eating...

 

[lovingeire]

Looking forward to this thread as we want to do the DxDPnext trip and will have a three year old so I think it will be a good learning read for me!

Do you have to eat off the Prix Fixe menu at Chefs with the dining plan?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I in!

 

[ChrissyBeth29]

Looks fun! I'm in! What a lovely family you have!

 

[iloveeeyore]

Your trip sounds amazing and your family is beautiful! Can't wait for more.

We love Les Chefs for lunch and especially Remy. So cute!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

I'm here!

And looking forward to reading the "unabridged" version.

Hi Barb! I enjoyed sending in those "live reports". Glad to have you here!

Subscribing, looking forward to following along! We ate at some of the same places on our last trip

Welcome!

Subbin! Glad you enjoyed your meal at Chefs, it's one of my favorites!

Welcome! Yes, Chefs was quite nice. Looking forward to another meal there sometime.

Subscribing....those food pics are great, making me hungry.

Welcome! Lots more pics to come!

Subbing..Great pics . Looking forward to seeing lots more

Welcome! Lots more to come, promise!

Subbing! We're also hoping to survive 10 nights of DxDP in April!

Welcome! It was definately a lot of food, but it was nice to have so much variety. But I really feel we wasted a lot of food!!

Love Chefs! Glad you had a nice meal. Sooo much food no wonder you couldn't handle dessert. But the creme brulee is the best in the World. Maybe next time! Thanks for the pics and review!!

Welcome! See, I have always heard the creme brulee was great, but I only scrape off the top part of the creme brulee when I order it

This looks like an exciting dining report! Can't wait for more!

Welcome!

I'm in! I'm a big fan of eating...

Welcome!!

Looking forward to this thread as we want to do the DxDPnext trip and will have a three year old so I think it will be a good learning read for me!

Welcome! DxDP was nice, just a LOT of food! I knew that going into this trip, but didnt realize it until ordering for a few days! Most of the time my little boys ordered the same thing, but a few times they ordered something different.

Do you have to eat off the Prix Fixe menu at Chefs with the dining plan?

Welcome! We were able to order whatever we wanted (unless there was an appetizer for 2, then 2 people had to share).

I in!

Welcome!

Looks fun! I'm in! What a lovely family you have!

Welcome! And thank you so much

Your trip sounds amazing and your family is beautiful! Can't wait for more.

We love Les Chefs for lunch and especially Remy. So cute!

Welcome! Thank you so much Lots more to come!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

For dinner this evening, we were headed to Coral Reef for the Candlelight Processional package.

I had read all sorts of different reviews, some good, some bad, some down right awful...but I was hopeful. Hunter really wanted to eat here because of the aquarium.

We arrived about 515pm for our 525pm ADR and had to wait approx 20 min before our buzzer went off. We were seated on the second tier and immediately our waitress, Patty approached our table. She told us what we were able to get since we were doing the Candlelight Processional package. She offered recommendations and came back shortly with drinks, presented us with the bread basket and took our dinner order.

Bread basket. These were ok. Typical rolls. I shared one with Evan.

For our appetizers, I ordered the Crispy-fried Shrimp with Coral Reef Slaw and a Spiced Rémoulade. The shrimp were nicely fried, with a good crispy texture, but the real winner was the spiced remoulade! That paired so nicely with the shrimp. I could have easily eaten a few more of these!!

Bo ordered Crab Cakes with Tropical Fruit Salsa and Tequila Aïoli. He enjoyed these. I had a small bite and was quite happy that I ordered the fried shrimp. These tasted ok, but I definately preferred my shrimp

Hunter ordered Caesar Salad with Shredded Parmesan and Croutons. This kid loves salad, so I was not at all suprised he ordered one. He ate every last bite, so I guess he enjoyed it.

Harper ordered Creamy Lobster Soup made with Tarragon and Brandy. She ate every last drop and would have licked the bowl clean had we let her! I was going to ask for a bite, but by the time I looked over, she was already done!

The little boys both had sliced apples for their appetizer. I did not take pictures of the apples.

Entrees were brought out about the time we were finishing up our appetizers.

I ordered Coral Reef Lobster Orecchiette Pasta with White Cheddar Cheese and Basil Oil. This was delicious, but INCREADIBLY RICH!! The flavor was nice, and everything went together well, but it was so heavy. There was no way I could eat all of this, so towards the end, I ended up just picking out the lobster and eating all of that. The lobster chunks were HUGE!

Bo ordered Grilled New York Strip Steak served with Roasted Potatoes, Mushrooms, Spinach, and Red Wine Sauce. He ordered this cooked medium. He said the cut of meat was quite nice, very little fat. He also enjoyed the roasted potatoes. Sorry for the blurry picture here.

Hunter also ordered this same steak, minus the mushrooms and he subbed fries. He ordered his medium well. He ate most of the steak and about half the french fries. He said the steak was fine, little fat.

Harper ordered Seared Chicken Breast served over Spaetzle finished with Applewood-smoked Bacon and Chicken Broth. To be honest, she did not care for this at all. She took a couple bites of the chicken and said it was quite dry. She did not care for the spaetzle either. I traded plates with her and she enjoyed my pasta, but agreed it was very rich. I agreed her chicken was very dry. Patty offered to get her another meal, but by this time Harper was getting full anyways.

The little boys both had cheese pizza. I did not try this, but the boys both ate about half of their pizzas.

We all ordered dessert tonight.

Bo, Harper and I all had The Chocolate Wave served with Raspberry Gelato. OK, I am not a huge chocolate person, but this was yummy!! And that raspberry gelato was so refreshing and perfect with the chocolate molten center. MMMM!!!

Hunter ordered Orange Cheesecake with Blood Orange Sauce. He loved this! He later declared this as his favorite dessert of the trip. I was curious of the orange flavoring and had a small bite. The orange flavor was quite mild.

Jaxon ordered plain vanilla ice cream (he is very picky about desserts). So again, no picture.

Evan ordered Coral Reef Brownie. Patty kept calling this "Nemo dessert" and I couldnt remember from pictures what it looked like. Oh goodness, this was so cute in its presentation. He devoured this! Every...single...bite! The brownie appeared to be very moist when I cut it for him.

Overall, our meal at Coral Reef was nice. Other than Harper's chicken, everyone enjoyed their meal. The ambiance was nice with the aquarium.

$295.94 was the total cost for the Candlelight Processional package. 12 dining credits used.

 

[lovingeire]

Welcome! We were able to order whatever we wanted (unless there was an appetizer for 2, then 2 people had to share).!

Awesome, thanks! It's on our list for our Jan, 2014 trip as thats when we plan to the the DxDP.

 

[mccartcm]

Subscribing to your thread! Love the idea of posting pictures and FULL detail reviews on places! Hope you had a great time! I am taking my boyfriend (his first time) in July will definitely use this to show him!!