We ate HOW much?? 10 days of total gluttony at WDW, with pics! UPDATE 9/2/12!

[bangzoom6877]

Hi everyone, I'm Bonnie! I already started my trip report here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2970728

I also decided to do some dining reviews. We spent 10 nights at WDW, and we ate at 20 table service restaurants. We had plenty of snacks along the way, and a little CS too!

A little background info on this trip, and us:

I'm 35, DH Eric is 35, DS Jonathan is 5, and DS Philip is 7. We are from Brooklyn, NY and we drove down to Florida, stopping along the way and we also went to Tampa for 3 days before WDW. I'm a lifetime member of Weight Watchers, but I always indulge when I am on vacation. Eric is not a HUGE eater, but also indulges on vacation. The boys like typical kid food, but Philip's favorite food is steak. We keep them eating very healthy at home, but allow them to indulge whenever we go away, within reason of course.

We are DVC members, since 2008. Our home resort is BWV and we stayed there on this trip. We did not get any of the dining plans. Instead, we opted for the Tables in Wonderland card. For those of you who are not familiar with TiW, it costs $100 if you are either a Florida resident or a DVC members, or $75 if you are an annual pass holder (regardless of residence). You can only get the TiW card if you are a FL resident, OR a DVC member, OR an annual pass holder. The TiW saves you 20% off of your entire bill, including alcohol, at participating restaurants. Most TS places take it (including at the Swan & Dolphin resorts), and very few CS take it (the ones at AK, the Value Resort food courts and the one at the side of PO Resort that doesn't have a TS). They add an automatic 18% gratuity to your bill when using the TiW card. It is good for up to 10 people as long as the cardholder is present at the table, and they do not split up the bill. However, we found that when we were a party of 10, they allowed us to split payment on different credit cards.

The TiW card saved us a lot of money over the 10 days. We paid a lot less than we would have for the deluxe dining plan, even when factoring in alcohol and tips and all our snacks. And we got to order exactly what we wanted everywhere we went without thinking about whether it would be included in a dining credit. We loved the freedom and the savings!

I will be reviewing the following TS restaurants:

1. Bongos Cuban Cafe lunch: post #11
2. Kouzzina dinner: post #33
3. Boma breakfast: post #51
4. Yachtsman Steakhouse dinner: post #61
5. Ohana dinner: post #69
6. Plaza lunch: post #75
7. California Grill dinner: post #82
8. Chefs de France lunch: post #98
9. Via Napoli dinner: post #102
10. Hollywood & Vine lunch: post #121
11. Kona Cafe dinner: post #130
12. Kona Cafe breakfast: post #135
13. Garden Grill dinner: post #147
14. San Angel Inn lunch: post #159
15. Biergarten dinner: post #163
16. Sci-Fi Dine-In lunch: post #182
17. 50s Prime Time Cafe dinner: post #183
18. Crystal Palace breakfast
19. 1900 Park Fare dinner
20. Chef Mickey's breakfast

We did not have one meal we thought was bad! Of course, some were better than others, and there are some we aren't planning to return to on our next trip, but we have honestly never had a terrible meal at WDW in 3 family trips there. So, expect lots of positive comments, maybe a few minor disappointments, but nothing earth-shattering! I will get started with Bongos soon, promise!

 

[mandas08]

Look forward to your review

 

[Destructsean]

We're eating at a lot of the same places when we go in December (Ohana, Cali Grill, Biergarten, Kona Cafe, Kouzzina,) so count me in! I love a good review/report.

 

[Tracerr00]

Your ADRs look fabulous and I can't wait to read them!!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Another one subbing

 

[vettegirl]

Wow Bonnie that is one incredible lineup this Disney Foodie can't wait to hear all about!

 

[mzozzietj]

subscribing!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Hi Bonnie! Cannot wait for your reviews, especially Bongos!

 

[MSierra123]

Can't wait to read the reviews. We will be going to some restaurants on yor list in August.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Can't wait!!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Thank you everyone for subbing and waiting patiently for me to begin!

We arrived at WDW on Monday, 7/23/12. We checked in at BWV, but the room was not ready yet (it was only like 10:30am!), and we headed to DTD on the bus. I had originally had Kona booked for lunch, since Eric was supposed to do the ride-along at the WDW Speedway, but he left the gift card at home. Fortunately, on July 29th, my parents were joining us, so my father went to our house and got the gift card for Eric to bring to us. So we planned it for a different day, no big deal. So instead, I canceled Kona and replaced it with Bongos, figuring we would do some shopping in DTD and I had heard good things about Bongos from a colleague at work. Eric and I had Cuban food once in Miami, before we had kids, and we loved it. So this worked for us!

First we got to DTD and went to Goofy's Candy Company, where I bought the 3 creat-your-own pretzel sticks. The boys each got dark chocolate, with M&Ms, drizzled with white chocolate. Eric and I shared dark chocolate, with graham crumbs, drizzled with milk chocolate. Here's a Goofy's Candy Company pic I took while we were waiting:

We devoured our pretzels, and the boys enjoyed watching them making them. Eric said, "I can't believe you just paid $10 for 3 dipped pretzel rods!" OK, he's right, it was pricy, but we had to do this once!

Next, we went to the World of Disney Store to get some new Mickey ears. I got the Disney princess ones, and the boys each got a Perry the Platypus hat. Eric still had his Goofy hat from last time and decided to wear it to the parks on this trip too.

We went to Guest Relations where I purchased the TiW card. Then we walked around some more, made our way through Pleasure Island and onto the West Side where the restaurant was. We headed inside, checked in, and were sat right away. Eric felt like having a tropical drink so he got this:

Philip was very happy to see that they had steak on the kids' menu, and decided to get it:

Now, Philip is allergic to shellfish, which I made sure was noted on all our ADRs. Disney always does a wonderful job taking care of him and letting us know what is good for him to order. I reminded the hostess when we checked in, she said "OK". I also mentioned it to the server, and she said "OK". I asked her if fries are all right for him (sometimes restaurants tell me there could be cross-contamination with shellfish in the fryer) and she looked and me like I had 3 heads and said they are fine for him. The chef never came over to talk to us like usual, and they didn't offer this. I know I should have asked, but it seemed as though they didn't do this here. Perhaps because it is not a Disney-owned restaurant? Philip ate everything and he was fine. He enjoyed it very much.

Jonathan ordered the pepperoni pizza from the kids' menu:

He ate this up and loved it!

Eric decided to go with one of their lunch sandwiches. He ordered the steak sandwich on cuban bread, which came with fries:

Eric said this was good, but nothing out of the ordinary. He wasn't impressed compared to some of the other restaurants we have eaten in at WDW.

I ordered the churrasco salad, which had sliced steak. It was supposed to have avocado (said so on the menu) but that was missing. I didn't say anything to the server because the salad was still very good.

The steak and onions were delicious, and the chimichurri was a nice complement.

$10.59 came off our bill by using the TiW card, and then the 18% gratuity was added. Including gratuity, this meal cost us $52.74.

After Bongos, we walked around some more and then it started to rain. We stopped into Cooke's of Dublin and Eric wanted to try the D'oh bar. It is a deep-fried candy bar, and you choose either Mars or Snickers. He chose Snickers. I tried a bite and it was good, only I thought it could be crispier. We also waited a long time for it, despite the fact that others who entered the place after us got their food quicker and also had deep-fried items.

When the rain let up a little, we continued to walk and made it back to the Marketplace area. I told Eric I had to go to Ghirardelli and share a large sundae with everyone for dessert. Couldn't decide between the hot fudge and peanut butter sundae (Gold Rush I think it's called) and the brownie sundae. So, we shared the brownie sundae and I got a side of warm peanut butter topping to go with it! This was amazing! Brownie was warm and fudgy, not overly sweet but very chocolatey. Ice cream was great and the hot fudge was the best I ever had. The peanut butter on the side was a great addition!

Sorry I didn't take snack pics. I have some I took for later in the trip though. After Ghirardelli, we headed back to the bus to go to BWV because I had gotten a text at 2:30 that our room was ready...ahead of schedule!

Next up: dinner at Kouzzina! Stay tuned...

 

[cherjp]

hi

joining here too as well as your other thread.

bongos looks good ,

 

[bangzoom6877]

hi

joining here too as well as your other thread.

bongos looks good ,

Food was good, just nothing special to us. Others rave about it though, so I would recommend that people try it at least once because you may love it! Service wasn't so great but that can happen anywhere and wouldn't stop me from going back to a restaurant unless it was consistently bad. We're going to replace it with something else next time so we can try something we haven't tried before. Like I said, the food was good, but it's not a must-do for each trip as some other restaurants still are. You will find out soon enough which ones are our faves!

 

[Tracerr00]

Steak, steak sandwich and steak salad...you are my kind of family!!! Your Ghirardelli sundae sounds exactly like something I would love! I'm lactose intolerant so I can't but I WOULD love it I'm sure. But surely my DD would give me a small bite because I'm sure we'll end up here at some point.

 

[skywaywaver]

Subbing but I'm going to be starving with each of your posts!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Steak, steak sandwich and steak salad...you are my kind of family!!! Your Ghirardelli sundae sounds exactly like something I would love! I'm lactose intolerant so I can't but I WOULD love it I'm sure. But surely my DD would give me a small bite because I'm sure we'll end up here at some point.

I'm lactose intolerant too. I can't take the Lactaid pills...they don't work for me. Last year, I discovered these Lactase Drops from Seeking Health. I have only been able to find them online, and they are a bit pricy, but soooooo totally worth it! I buy 6 bottles at a time to get a discount. You can treat milk with them instead of buying the Lactaid milk, or you can just place a few drops in your mouth when you start eating dairy (which is what I do). They were a miracle product for me on a cruise last summer, and everywhere I go! At home I drink almond milk and limit my dairy but when I am out it makes my life a whole lot easier! I used them at Ghirardelli and had no problems at all!

Subbing but I'm going to be starving with each of your posts!

Soon enough you will be there enjoying the food, and I will be sooooooo envious! Eric and I have been doing this 3-day cleanse with Shakeology (nutrition shake) from the day after we got home, and today is the third day. It's a shake for breakfast with a cup of green tea, fruit for a mid-morning snack, a shake for lunch, a cup of green tea and a fruit in the afternoon, 4 ounces of skinless white grilled protein for dinner with a huge salad and 2 tbsp light dressing, and a shake for dessert an hour or 2 later. I had my coffee this morning though, couldn't take it anymore! I'm going crazy over here! Tomorrow I am back to following Weight Watchers completely. So, yes, I am very envious of anyone who is going on vacation any time soon to enjoy delicious foods and treats!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

We debated Bongo's this trip but ultimately decided against it. One of these days. Really looking foward to your Kouzzina review!

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Can't wait for more reviews!! Thanks!!

 

[ilovepete]

Looks great, I'm in!

 

[starousse]

Can't wait to hear more.