Free DDP –"I can order whatever I want?" COMPLETE with pics added to character meals

[jenjie]

ETA: Thanks for reading! I wanted to state up front that although we were on the DDP we didn't order according to price, but according to what we wanted to eat.

We arrived at WDW on August 24. We paid oop that day, then we used the free DDP for the rest of the week. We were eligible for the free QSDP but we paid around $300 to upgrade to regular DDP. On the plan are me, dh, ds14, dd12 and ds7.

The most important thing I can tell you is, keep track of your DDP credits. You can go to the desk any time and get a printout. I wish I had done that. I did things backwards. We used snack credits one morning for breakfast, and were stuck with extra QS credits that we couldn’t use.

I have a shellfish allergy. Every TS we went to, they stamped a red “allergy” notification on the paper and brought the chef out. It was really only needed when we were at Coral Reef but they came out every single time. They would let me know what to stay away from, if anything. There was very little I needed to avoid.

Cosmic Ray’s, QS lunch, MK - OOP

I have fond memories of Cosmic Ray’s. The reason I went in there last trip was because I saw somebody’s plate in the window. Those mashed potatoes looked good. I remember really enjoying my meal. So I was looking forward to eating there again this trip, hoping after 10 years it was as good as I remembered. The first thing on our agenda at MK was LUNCH, since we had last eaten at about 5:30 am before our flight. Cosmic Rays’ has a good variety for my family. This was OOP since our MYW package, and DDP, wouldn’t begin until the next day.

We arrived at about 12:30, and believe it or not we quickly found seats as another group was getting up. We went up for food in shifts so we could save the table. DD12 had the chicken nuggets – the adult chicken nuggets, which are very different from the kids’ nuggets, which ds7 had. Both had fries. The kids’ nuggets look very unappealing, like little dried out hockey pucks. These exact nuggets are served at several locations we ate at. The adult nuggets were very good. I am not a fan of fast food chicken anywhere but I tried these. They were good meaty pieces of boneless fried chicken. The fries were not crispy but they weren’t limp either. Everyone at my table enjoyed them.

DH and DS12 had bacon cheeseburgers with fries. They were happy with these. They liked the fixins bar, too. What did I have? So much to choose from. I went with the ½ rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. Everything was well cooked and well seasoned. I was very satisfied with my meal.

My kids really liked Cosmic Ray’s and wanted to come back. DH and I were both fine with that idea but it never ended up happening. They liked everything but Sonny Eclipse . DS 14 said he was creepy, ds7 didn’t like the talking alligator, and dd 12 got into a debate with me about his name.

Landscape of Flavors, QS dinner, AoA resort - OOP

We ate dinner at AoA resort. There are some good things on the menu I’ve been wanting to try. I was a bit disappointed when dh suggested getting a few pizzas to save some money. Remember our DDP didn’t kick in until the following day. I put on a brave face but inside I was not thrilled. Pizza? Really? Well guess what? It was very good. It was hot and fresh and tasty. Did I mention HOT? I burned my lip with some stray cheese! We got two pizzas and a two-liter bottle of soda. You place your order and they give you a buzzer. It took maybe 10 minutes.

Let me add in a few items of interest. You can buy a half gallon of milk or a case of 24 12-oz bottles of Dasani water for the refrigerator in your suite. We had cereal and pop tarts shipped from amazon.com. That plus the milk is a decent breakfast. We got water bottle straps to attach to our belt loops and saved some money that way too.

If you are not on the DDP, buying a two-liter soda is a cheaper option than buying drinks separately. Once you purchase the soda, you can ask the cashier for disposable cups for your group. We bought a juice box for ds7. Well we were going to but the CM gave it to us for free. “It’s a gift.” Thank you CM!

Flame Tree Barbecue, QS lunch, DAK

We were looking forward to this meal. DH and I both got the rib platter. DS14 and DD12 got the pulled pork sandwich. Everything was good but it is pretty peppery. DD spilled her drink on the way to the table, in view of a CM. She immediately offered to bring a new drink. A CM was walking around with a pin board for pin trading. There are birds all over but they are not like the seagulls we see at the shore. You can tell they are not fed table scraps because they just mind their own business. There was a CM going around with one of those claw contraptions for picking up trash. He said, “No bird will get your food as long as I’m around!”

We had the chocolate mousse for dessert. It was tasty but very rich. We could only eat a few bites. Next time I’d only order one or two and get water bottles for the rest.

Beastly Kiosk, QS lunch, DAK

All they sell at this station is corn dogs. The DDP meal is a corn dog, a small bag of chips, and a beverage. DS 7 got this. It came wrapped in parchment paper instead of on a plate. It was HOT. He liked it.

Just a freebie, but we were hanging out near Yak & Yeki QS while the guys were riding EE for the third time. If it tastes as good as it smells and looks, it must be delicious!

Hollywood & Vine, TS Dinner, DHS

This was a last minute ADR. We had changed plans so many times and were looking to use an unplanned TS credit. We wanted to be in or around DHS for Fantasmic. I was coming up empty on the WDW website. There were spots available but nothing we wanted to eat at the time we wanted. We had stopped back at AoA so I asked for help at the concierge desk. She came up with Hollywood and Vine. It was directly in DHS and it was a buffet so I thought it was a good choice. I don’t recall H&V having the best reputation but we are not foodies and figured the kids would appreciate being able to choose.

The meats were overly seasoned. My favorite thing on the buffet was the broccoli slaw. Overall we didn’t love this meal.

H&V shares a restroom with 50's Prime Time. If you take a wrong turn, you can sneak a peek at the great decor at Prime Time.

Captain Cook’s, QS breakfast, Polynesian Resort

We had originally had an ADR for Kona for the Tonga toast. But we didn’t want to lose a lot of time in the park. So we went to Captain Cook’s for QS instead. I really recommend this. We did MK rope drop, rode Peter Pan, Indy Speedway, Alice & White Rabbit meet & greet, rode Mad Tea Party, rode Pooh and made our way to the front of the park by 10:15. We took the monorail to Poly, ate breakfast outside in a lovely setting, and were back at MK an hour later.

Captain Cook’s has the electronic ordering board. The only beverages you could choose from are fountain drinks or hot drinks. I thought it was odd that we couldn’t order milk or juice at breakfast and put it in for sodas. Afterwards I found the refrigerator with an assortment of cold beverages. Don’t make the same mistake I did!

There has been some question about the QS Tonga toast. You are able to get it with bacon or sausage. The only thing I don’t remember them offering is the fruit topping. Everybody except ds7 got the tonga toast with bacon. We loved it! We didn’t love the banana but the rest of it was so good. It’s very filling as well! DS7 got the Mickey waffle, which he enjoyed. He took Mickey’s ears off and pretended he couldn’t hear.

Snack time!!


DS7 got the candy powder stick. He enjoyed making a rainbow of colors but didn’t really like the candy.

DD12 got popcorn, she was happy with it. The smell draws you in!

I went to Aloha Aisle and got a rootbeer float for dh and for me… Dole Whip float! Both are larger than they look in the pictures. I liked the Dole Whip part but forgot that while I love pineapple, I like pineapple juice in smaller doses.

We got free ice water at Pecos Bill’s. It appears that they try to have them ready. They gave us one and prepared the rest. Mine must have been the one that was sitting, it tasted like normal water. The rest had that strong mineral taste.

I'll be back with reviews for

1900 Park Fare - TS Dinner, Grand Floridian- dinner with Cinderella and the stepsisters!
Coral Reef - TS lunch, Epcot
Karamel Kuche
50s Prime Time
Wolfgang Puck Express
lunch @ Landscape of Flavors
Plaza Restaurant
Garden Grill
breakfast @ Landscape of Flavors
Goofy's Candy company & other random snack credits

 

[jenjie]

1900 Park Fare – TS Dinner, Grand Floridian

This was probably the meal I was most looking forward to. We wanted to do a princess meal but we enjoy a good bit of snark with our dinner. I had heard some things about this Cinderella dinner- that Cinderella and the prince are boring, but the Tremaines are a riot. That the food was so-so. One thing I had forgotten was that they take your picture before entering the dining room.

The Grand Floridian is very impressive. There are many couches and chairs arranged in pleasant seating arrangements. There was a band playing different Disney songs. DH felt out of place but there were plenty of other families straight from the parks. DH had asked if we needed to back to our resort and change but I said no.

I was wandering around and saw the Dis’ famous Miss Lynn! I went over and chatted with her a few minutes. As she told me, teddy bears help her feel young.

When our buzzer went off, they talked to us about taking a picture. Uhoh! You see, we had been out in the rain and weren’t exactly photo-ready. The mom from the next family looked at me with the same horrified expression. Surprisingly the photo didn’t look all that bad, but we chose not to purchase it.

We were celebrating DS14’s birthday. Our server brought him a laminated placemat autographed by all of the 1900 Park Fare characters. Later she brought ds14 a big happy birthday cupcake.

She told us we only needed to be concerned about waiting at the table when the characters were at the next table over.

The characters take their time at each table, and every so often they would break out into antics. “Motherrrrrr!” One of the stepsisters was proposed to while we were there. It was a big event! Several times the characters would be announced. At one point they had everyone celebrating a birthday stand up while they played Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. There was a dance at one point. Cinderella took a child by the hand and started gracefully waltzing. Drizella took another child and bounced around in a circle. She looked like she had taken dancing lessons from Tigger.

I had talked to the kids about talking to the characters. DS14 out of nowhere decided to be Mr. Sociable but he asked questions that were maybe not the most appreciated. The characters were very gracious and I realized how quick they on their feet they need to be.

The characters:

Cinderella – she asked dd if she was here with princes or pirates. She told DS14 he was just the right age for marrying and she would put in a good word with one of her stepsisters.

Prince – DS14 – “Who does your hair? It doesn’t look good.” Prince – “I let the mice do my hair today.” DH and I wanted to crawl under the table and the prince said something admirable about honesty. I asked where he learned to be so charming, because my son needed lessons. He said he learned everything from the duke. Then gave ds a quote about not comparing yourself to others, but improving yourself each day.

Lady Tremaine took the kids’ autograph books and said, “Would you like me to increase the value of your book?” She asked DS to think about proposing, and dd to come clean house for her.

Drizella – first, she came up to the table next to us and said, “I hope you’re enjoying everything EXCEPT Cinderella.” When she came up to us, DS14 again had to open his mouth because he asked if she was the maid. “Your dress looks like a maid’s outfit.” Drizella – “OH no, I’m not a maid. Maids wear gloves. Cinderella is the maid, not me. You know Prince Charming stole our maid, now she’s his maid.”

Anastasia – you know, she was really sweet. Not what I was expecting. There were two little princesses at the next table who had visited BBB. She commented on their pixie dust and told them to be careful not to bump their heads on the ceiling if they went flying. She was just chatting with the kids while she signed their books and all of a sudden started poking ds14. DS - “why are you poking me?” “You’re poking him!” She pokes him some more. “"Do it, do it, do it!” Why do you keep poking your brother?" DS7 wants to ask her something and ds14 is egging him on. Anastasia asks DS7, “Did you want to ask me to marry you?” He blurts out, “No, marry DS14!” DS14 was like,” nonononono!!!! “ and we all cracked up laughing.

I forgot Anastasia also had a conversation with DD about her bracelet. She has a rubber bracelet that says "I love you more", from a Matthew West song. Anastasia was joking that if a guy says I love you and you aren't quite ready to commit, you can just kind of flick your wrist with the "I love you more" bracelet. She seemed pretty amused with herself. We were too.

This was a time consuming meal but it was a lot of fun.

Oh, the food? Very good. There were some good choices on the buffet. My favorite was some kind of beef stew with sliced potatoes on top. There was a corn chowder that I didn’t care for. DH had quite a bit of shrimp. DS7 loved the fact that there was a big bowl of gummy bears on the dessert table.

I’m sorry I don’t remember a whole lot about the food choices but I remember enjoying my meal and just loving all the characters.

ETA Allergy folks, Chef TJ came out to talk to me. Their shellfish was all confined to one area so I didn't have any issues. He said to my DH, "if you'll be eating shrimp tonight, don't kiss her! I'll be watching." LOL

There was another table close by that he spent quite a bit of time with. They had more complicated allergies. He brought out a little tower of Mickey-shaped bread for them. I talked to the mom, and she told me about some of the beautiful creations he has made for them in the past. apparently she had said something to him about just working around their allergy issues, but he said it's important that everyone has a special meal regardless of allergies.

 

[Dalamara]

Sounds like a lot of fun so far!! Can't wait to read about the rest of your adventures

 

[mousebit]

Thanx for the reviews. Glad to at least know Y&Y QS smells yummy. We're going to try it next trip. Love the TS there.

Good tips about the AoA pizza & Tonga Toast at Capt. Cook's.

 

[jenjie]

Thanks for reading along!

 

[jenjie]

Coral Reef, TS lunch, Epcot

This was one of two restaurants DH wanted to go to. He really wanted the kids to experience eating in front of the aquarium wall. I had read unfavorable reviews of CR but I had free reign of every other ADR, I couldn’t refuse.

We had a 12:20 ADR. We sat on the second tier as soon as you go in, in front of the furthest window of the aquarium to the left. Let me just say that I was disappointed at first because for quite a while, it seemed like the tank was empty of fish. There was nothing going on. But as our meal progressed, the marine life put on a show! There was a large tortoise that seemed like he was taking a 100-year nap. Right in “our” window, he got up and swam straight up in front of us before he swam away. There was a shark milling around. At one point, divers came through. But the most entertaining was when we realized there was a group of fish following the stingray! They passed by time and time again. It seemed like life imitating art, but in reality this showed just how much art imitated life. We could “see” Mr. Ray and his students. Well done with the details, Disney!

This is where my thread title begins. It was our first non-buffet TS. DH would ask, “What can I order? ANY entrée? Even the most expensive one on the menu?” Yes, dear. Whatever you want. Every meal he got happier and happier with the free DDP. Yes I know it’s not “really” free, and I know we wouldn’t have eaten this way if we paid OOP all week. But we actually had originally booked our trip beginning August 20. There were no discounts offered at that time, so this definitely did save us money.

Our server, Brooke, had the chef come out and talk with me. I’m not a lover of fish but for some reason I wanted to try the mahi mahi. He assured me that I could get the mahi mahi without the shrimp, and as a matter of fact replacing the side with the “warm salad of white beans, arugula, tomatoes, crispy bacon, aged balsamic vinegar and brown butter” which came with the rainbow trout. DH ordered the regular mahi mahi dish. Both were very good. The mahi mahi has a mild taste. It wasn’t a large piece of fish but it is supposed to come with shrimp, so that probably had something to do with portion size. Either way it ended up being a good thing because I ended up eating way too much at this meal. My fish was grilled but not very seasoned. I think the sauce which I didn’t get was supposed to bring the flavor, but I liked it just the same. DH and I both enjoyed our dishes and cleaned our plates.

DS14 got the strip steak, our server offered French fries instead of mashed potatoes. He jumped at this. I didn’t try the steak but it looked very good. This was the first time ds had eaten more than a few bites of steak. It was mostly finished when he got up to use the restroom, telling us not to let her take his plate. He came back and finished, I’m guessing he liked it.
DD12 wasn’t overly excited about anything on the menu and asked for buttered pasta. They brought out a big bowl of pasta but it was dry and boring. DD my non-adventurous eater tried our fish and kept taking more bites. Next time she would order the mahi mahi.

DS7 got the kids’ pizza with apples and something else? He ordered the brownie for dessert. That came with a scoop of ice cream and chocolate syrup but he didn’t end up eating it.

Oh there serve wonderful yeast rolls!

Dessert… oh my, what to choose?

Dh had the Bailey’s and Jack Daniels Mousse. He was very pleased with it. ETA dh said he wished this could be his birthday dinner. I guess he was more than "very pleased"!

DD wasn’t sure what she wanted. She was really concerned because the menu outside stated that the chocolate wave contained alcohol. We brought it to the attention of our server, who assured dd that it no longer contains alcohol. She was going to mention to somebody about replacing the outside menu.

Anyway dd and I decided to get the chocolate wave and crème brulee and split them. DD didn’t care for the crème brulee so I gave her the chocolate wave. By now she wasn’t hungry. She took one bite and liked it, but was too full. This was where my big mistake happened. Both desserts were so good, I ate half of the chocolate wave and all of the crème brulee! Oh my goodness! The chocolate wave is good but like any other chocolate lava cake. But that crème brulee is magic on a plate! I had ordered it at a restaurant years ago and couldn’t understand what all the hype was about. THIS crème brulee was what the hype is about.

DS14 doesn’t eat chocolate. He ordered the crème brulee at my suggestion. He didn’t care for it. Our wonderful server Brooke noticed he wasn’t eating it and offered to bring something else. “You have to have dessert on your birthday!” He was wearing the birthday button. She brought him the sugar-free cheesecake, saying the sweetness of the fruit would make up for the lack of sugar. That is a thing of beauty! I took a taste. I didn’t care for the cheesecake itself, I don’t like sugar-free things. But the fruit was fresh and beautiful and tasty. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and I think strawberries. DS really liked the cheesecake.

Coral Reef was a winner as far as we were concerned! Good food and wonderful service!

 

[Quin]

Glad you enjoyed Coral Reef. While it is not one of our absolute must-dos, we had a good meal there 2 years ago and would not hesitate to go back.

 

[jenjie]

Karamel Kuche - time to use a few snack credits!

Chewy caramel bar - I have been looking forward to this ever since I heard the description. Shortbread covered in caramel? That's the snack credit for me! I must say, it was not what I expected. it was rich and dense, you want to share or save some for later. But... For me personally, it was not what I had hoped for. The cookie - was it supposed to be a cookie? - was crumbly, there wasn't a good mouth feel for me. And the caramel wasn't chewy. I don't know why they call it a chewy caramel bar.

Next up... Chocolate covered caramel!

 

[jenjie]

Mmmm the dark chocolate covered caramel at Karamel Kuche... it was exactly as it should be. Just the right texture, not too hard and not too soft. A nicely sized square of perfection.

 

[jenjie]

50s Prime Time Cafe, TS Lunch, DHS

This was fun! Mark was our server. He had just the right amount of sarcasm. He mostly picked on the boys. When ds14 didn't give his order promptly enough, he went on to the next person and came back to him. He would come over and push ds7's chair in. He didn't say anything about the elbows although the older kids were purposely putting them on the table. But he would come harrass them just for the sake of harrassing them. I think I found ds14's dream job. Seriously though, ds is sarcastic yet likes to help people.

Mark would magically show up with drink refills. When a new party would sit down, he introduced them to the another party. He would pick one person and remember their name the entire visit. When dh got up to use the restroom, he asked if he got mad and left.

The family at the next table had a different server. She was very quiet and we didn't hear any kind of banter at that table. A different server sent somebody to stand against the wall.

Mark had a Portuguese speaking family come in. He would come over and tell us what a difficult time he had communicating with them. He said they have menus printed 7 or 8 different languages (including Portuguese) but it was still difficult. Maybe they need picture menus so people can see what they are ordering.

I love pot roast, so that was it for me. It was so good. Although I could have used more juice. It was mostly meat, not a lot of veggies.

DH got the sampler platter. His favorite was the pot roast. He's not a fan of meatloaf and his chicken was a bit dry.

DD got the fried chicken. It comes with 3 or 4 pieces of chicken. She really enjoyed it. DH had a piece of her chicken, he said it was moister.

DS14 got the chicken pot pie. This boy loves the Marie Callender's type of pot pie so he wasn't enamored with it. But he still managed to clean his plate. Except for the mushrooms. He doesn't like mushrooms. It looked very good. It was like a chicken stew. A big puff pastry sits on top of it all. Comfort food all the way.

You can have a milkshake as your drink on the DDP. DD and DS14 got milkshakes. They were what you would expect them to be - thick and good. I didn't get one, so Mark offered my milkshake to ds7, offering my coke on ds' meal. Ds didn't want one but I thought it was a very nice offer.

I know I haven't said much about my little guy's meals but they were uneventful. I can't remember what he got much of the time. It was mostly either pizza or chicken nuggets. He either ate it or didn't. He didn't have a whole lot to say, but when he did, I'll let you know.

DH and DD had the Boston Cream Parfait for dessert. I had Dad's Brownie Sundae. I only had 3 bites and still rolled out of there. The brownie is soft and rich and smooth.


50s Prime Time was altogether a satisfying meal.



Up next:

Downtown Disney! Wolfgang Puck Express and Goofy's Candy Co!

 

[ShortStuff]

Yummm, sounds like a wonderful culinary tour so far!! Lots of different meals!! That's fun I think!

I just have to say that I am consistently disappointed with the kids meals at WDW. At Disneyland, I would often choose one of the kids choices, as the adult meals are huge and it's hard to finish all of that in the heat. At WDW, I don't think I would ever order a CS kids meal. In fact, my daughter and I often share with the kids, or get them something from one of the CS that doesn't offer kids meals, like Caseys.

The good thing about sharing, is that food doesn't get wasted!

Looking forward to more of your adventures!

 

[jenjie]

Oh I'm glad you said that. I meant to add that 50s Prime Time is an excellent place to split a meal. They give you plenty of food.


Unfortunately, my kids are not adventurous eaters so the kids menu is good for them.

 

[ShortStuff]

Oh I'm glad you said that. I meant to add that 50s Prime Time is an excellent place to split a meal. They give you plenty of food.


Unfortunately, my kids are not adventurous eaters so the kids menu is good for them.

Glad to hear that they work well for your kids!! : There are just too many things my very picky grandsons don't like, lol.

Looking forward to more!!

 

[jenjie]

Thanks

 

[jenjie]

Wolfgang Puck Express, QS Dinner, DTD

Yay WPE! This was one of the places I wanted to eat but wasn't sure if it would happen. When we were deciding on dinner, I said WPE had a good variety for our family and I had heard good things about their pizzas. I didn't want to make too big a deal out of it. It was raining and we ran in, dh didn't really think there was much to choose from on the menu. But he would make do. But then he says it, "So what can I order? Anything? Even the large plates?" Yes, anything!

Dh went with the half rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. He changed his tune. He really enjoyed this.

I had to have the bacon wrapped meatloaf. I had heard so many good things about it here on the Dis! Well, this might be a good place to say that just because everybody likes it, if you don't like meatloaf, don't order the meatloaf! It was actually good but I could only eat so much of it. It was well made, the problem was mine.

DS14 and DD12 got the pizza. DD saw they had bacon pizza on the breakfast menu so asked if she could have bacon on her pizza. It had an upcharge of $1.00 but was included on the DDP. They both got the bacon pizza. First off, this is a good meal for kids to split, there was plenty of pizza. But they didn't care for it. Part of it was the "disney bacon" issue. The other part was, the pizza was doughy in the middle. It could have been cooked a little bit longer.

DS7 also got a pizza, a kid's meal pizza. This took a little extra bit of time coming out because one of the servers dropped it on the way to the table and they had to make another one. Let me say here that this is not the only time that the Disney folks freely admitted to making a mistake. It was very refreshing. They just came out, explained the problem and solution, and apologized. DS loved this pizza and declared it the best pizza of the trip! DD tried his and agreed it was very good.

The big dessert at our table was the cheesecake with creme brulee topping. This was incredible.

At WPE you order at the register, then they hand you a "table tent" number. You go and find a table and put your number on it. A server delivers your food. I think they have serving teams. Real plates. You get your own drinks and free refills.

I know there has been a question about saving tables. DH saved a table for us without a problem but as we were leaving, they were not allowing people to save tables because it was much more crowded. DS14 spilled his drink as we were getting up to leave. I joked with the server about our table being jinxed, what with the server dropping the pizza and ds spilling the drink.

 

[ShortStuff]

Lol, I wont tell you what happened the last time we ate there. It wasn't at all pretty! My favorite thing at WGPE is the chicken meal your husband ordered. The chicken is always moist and tender and never too salty.

They also do an incredible breakfast!! You should have seen my older grandsons face when he got the waffle one morning. It was piled high with whipped cream and fresh fruit!! He was in heaven!

That's too bad about your DS and DD pizzas being too doughy in the center. I hope they got full with the outside of the pie! Last year they didn't have cheese cake! Yummm, but I love their creme brulee.

 

[jenjie]

Big news at Goofy's Candy Company!

That's right my Dis friends, the Make Your Own Treats are back on the DDP! I started a thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2983890 about it while I was there.

you can get a rice krispie treat, marshmallow or gingerbread cookie with one dip PLUS either a topping OR drizzle. I got a Mickey rice krispie treat dipped in dark chocolate and topped with crushed peanuts.

PEANUT ALLERGY ALERT!! There are so many tiny pieces of loose peanut. I broke off a piece of the treat in my room, while it was still in the bag, and still peanut pieces went all over. I did my best to pick up and throw out every piece but the carpet in our room (AOA Lion King) was so incredibly busy that I can't guarantee I got every piece. DS spilled cocoa krispies and it was finding a needle in a haystack.

OK back to business... these things are good! Not surprising. DD didn't hear where they said you could only pick two of the three - the forms are the same - and filled out all the spots. They gave her everything on her paper without charging anything else. She got a milk chocolate dip with m&ms and a milk chocolate drizzle.

Mmmmm.

DS7 got one of these character cookies. Note the price point for a snack credit. DS chose Goofy. It tastes like you would expect. Style but no substance. He took a bite but that was the end. It was pretty blah.

He also got a bag of cotton candy but never ate it. So it is sitting in my cabinet shrinking by the day!

 

[jenjie]

This is where my family goes our separate ways. The plan was to go to Pizza Planet for lunch. This was a must-do for all of the kids. But ds7 was very tired this morning. I told him I would take him back for a rest after lunch, but he wasn't even interested in lunch. ( I found out later he had developed a fever ) I took him back and picked up lunch at Landscape of Flavors, while dh and the big kids went to Pizza Planet.

Pizza Planet, QS lunch, DHS

DH enjoyed the meatball sandwich. DS14 and DD12 got the pizza, they determined it was better than WPE but not as good as Landscape. I'm excited because dd ate everybody's salads. She doesn't eat very healthy and just started eating salad.

This was one of several times that they were disappointed. I guess Pizza Planet didn't resemble the one in the movie as much as they expected. They're not in a hurry to go back.

Landscape of Flavors, QS lunch, Art of Animation Resort

Truth be told, I wasn't all that disappointed to miss lunch at PP. The LoF food looks so very good and I really wanted to try it. But what to get? Hmmm how about we start with ds... he got the kids' pizza with apple slices and grapes. It was, well, it was kid's pizza with apple slices and grapes. The pizza was pretty small. There's not much to say. He was tired and picked at it.

Now... I chose the Caprese sandwich. I do believe this was my favorite meal of the trip! It is premade but it's good because it gives the flavors a chance to meld. It has this balsamic drizzle thing that really brought everything together beautifully. I could eat this sandwich every day. It came with very good homemade potato chips. I ate every bite.

I didn't think of this until now, but I'll bet I was due a dessert. The chips threw me off and I didn't think to pick something up. They didn't say anything at the register either. <--- just kidding but man they had some good looking snacks!

 

[jenjie]

Plaza Restaurant, TS Dinner, MK

My main reason for this ADR was ds14. He loves banana splits. Nuff said? Plus I heard the Plaza has a reputation for good, fresh food.

The Plaza is a small restaurant! DD commented on the size and lack of space. We sat in the middle of the restaurant. There is a long mirror on the back wall. I mention this because.... we watched the Move it Shake it parade in the mirror! Just a little bonus.

OK down to business.

DS14 had the Philadelphia cheesesteak. We are from the Philadelphia area and it's not quite a Philly cheesesteak, but he enjoyed it and ate everything.

DH had the Plaza Club, which he enjoyed.

DS7 had the grilled cheese sandwich. He wasn't feeling well but ate that entire sandwich.

DD12 really only cares for the cheeseburger out of what was on the adult menu, but she wasn't in the mood for one. So she ordered the kids' chicken strips. I told her about 3 times, "They're grilled, are you sure you want them?" It wasn't computing. They brought out a whole plate of grilled chicken strips (adult size of the kids meal). She was not happy with it only because it wasn't what she was expecting. To be honest they looked very lackluster but it was exactly as stated on the menu. She just wanted breaded chicken strips and agreed she should have ordered the chicken nuggets.

I had a hard time deciding on what to order. I finally chose the salad, only because I felt like I needed some salad in my meal rotation. I do love a good salad. I asked for the chicken strawberry salad WITHOUT the gorgonzola. It came with the cheese. I tried eating it but just don't care for it. The server was gracious and admitted it was their mistake, bringing me a new salad. It was fresh and good.

Did I mention the french fries? Best french fries on property! Hot and fresh and crispy.

Now about those desserts... We were all really too full for dessert. DS14 did get the banana split but wasn't really able to eat much of it. DD got ds7's mickeylodeon ice cream. And we got 3 cheesecakes to go. DS7 and I were headed back to our room because he had a fever that had gone undetected. We ate the cheesecakes later, they were quite good. (WPE definitely had the best cheesecake though!)

 

[ShortStuff]

Your meal at the Plaza sounds really good!! I'm glad to know that WPE has the better cheesecake!! We will most likely be going there on our arrival day, for lunch or dinner!

I've seen pictures of the cheese steak sandwich. I'm not surprised your son couldn't finish the banana split, but I bet he had fun trying!! :

I hope your little guy started feeling better soon!