2010: A Year of Wine and Disney Pre-trip Report

[anthonut]

Intro

Ok, not exactly sure how much wine will end up being involved but definitely Disney Since I am starting this thread pre-trip I decided to call these first few posts my Pre-Food Report or PFR.

Now I confess to have trying a couple of trip reports/dining reviews in the past and they faltered quite quickly. However, I've made an early New Years Resolution to give this one more attempt. I have learned so much for my past two trips from fellow DISers that I hopefully can offer something back as well as attempting to be mildly entertaining.

Your author - me, moi, anthonut - mid-30s and love trying different foods. There is pretty much nothing I won't try once...ok, I'm no Andrew Zimmern, so I doubt I will be eating slugs out of logs. However, given my Pennsylvania Dutch heritage I have probably tried every part of a pig or cow at least once. I've even helped the family make scrapple while growing up. Bonus points to those that know what scrapple is All of this is to say, there is little in food that will scare me away.

The title of the thread refers to my plans for a number of trips this year. The first and most definite is my already booked March Spring Break trip. I have traveled to WDW the past two spring breaks. Sure the place is crowded, but the weather is perfect and, with the great advice from the boards, the crowds are manageable.

For the second year in a row, I'll be taking advantage of the 4/3 deal staying at POR. Unfortunately no $200 gift card for early booking this year. Guess those reductions in discounts Iger has talked about were already being implemented This year I will be traveling solo so this will be my first solo trip to WDW. It's always nice to share the WDW experience with others, but it will be nice to do what I like, when I like.

The other potential trips for this year are as follows:

April - 2 days - chaperone for Grad Night trip
August - 1 day - possible stop for another chaperone duty
October - 5 day trip to check out Food and Wine Festival - almost definite. I want to see what bounceback offers are available while down in March. Also plan to get an AP so may wait to see what AP rates are available as well.
November - 6 day Thanksgiving trip. The family is planning to meet up in Orlando for Turkey day. We plan to rent a house and use the time to check out the resort and park decorations.

So that is the basic info. A little later today I will be posting my current ADRs as well as some of the changes I have made since originally booking.

 

[anthonut]

As stated in the thread originating message I would offer a post today of my current plans/ADRs. In about two minutes from the writing of this sentence it will technically be tomorrow in the Central Time Zone, so I'm half keeping up that promise by writing the post, though technically it is still today in some parts of the globe

The plans below have already been adjusted a few times since my initial booking. I will try to note any changes that I can recall. As with many DISers I took part in the Great ADR Scramble on Oct. 27th. Amazingly I was able to get through on the phone in the early afternoon and was able to secure all the ADRs I initially wanted, even if some times weren't my first choice. Thankfully subsequent maneuvers have massaged those times closer to what I preferred

March 12th - Arrival in Orlando - originally I was going to arrive around noon on the 13th at POR and use ME to get there from MCO. After some internal debate which would very likely be incomprehensible if attempted to be put in written form, I decided I would prefer to have a rental car and come down a day early. So now I arrive at MCO at 6:30 and will take a one night stay off site. No ADRs for this day so I will probably just check out DTD and get a royal sandwich at EOS. Ate there on arrival day last year and loved the warm bread and quality ingredients. As a bonus I can take a boat ride to POR and scope out the place before checking in the following day.

March 13th - Since I will now already be waking up in Orlando on this day I have added an ADR for a 9:10 breakfast at Boma. I arrived the day before my family last year and also had breakfast at Boma. I loved the variety of items available on the buffet so I'm looking forward to sampling again as well as loading up the plate with some fresh pineapple. I eat enough pineapple that sometimes I worry I may start turning into one, sort of a half-human/half-fruit Brundlepineapple. Also love their juice mix and I will indulge myself with a glass. I typically don't drink much fruit juice as I am diabetic and would rather intake my sugar in other forms After breakfast I will check in at POR and then head to DTD to upgrade my MYW ticket to an AP. I think I will also get a TIW card at that time. Will probably spend some time at Epcot after that.

Dinner is also scheduled for Boma around 6pm. This was originally my initial ADR. We loved the new food experiences during our Boma dinner last year that I thought it would be a great way to start the eating fest this year. We loved the carrot ginger soup enough that my mom wrote the chef to ask for the recipe. They happily provided it for us and we cooked up a batch in October. Very creamy and delicious. I am looking at my current plan to see if I can move things around instead of doubling down on Boma on a single day. After dinner I may try to catch Wishes from the Poly beach or Illuminations.

March 14th - First Full Park Day - Animal Kingdom - Plan to get to AK for rope drop. Have not seen the opening show yet so I'd like to catch it then meet up with a Yeti friend of mine. After park time I have a 12:35pm lunch ADR for Tusker House. I do worry about the current Boma-Boma-Tusker House trifecta in my current plan, but if I can't make a change to the Boma dinner and decide I want food of a different ilk I may just stop at Flame Tree BBQ. After lunch I will continue to feed my twin loves of theme parks and zoos. Following a full day at AK, I will then make my way to the Poly for a 7:05pm dinner ADR at Ohana. We canceled our ADR for this meal last year so I'm really looking forward to trying it this year. I know there are definite mixed reviews of Ohana on the DIS, but at worse I can say I gave it a shot. Following the meal I plan to go to MK for EMH and hopefully catching Spectro and Wishes. Originally I had Jiko here and Ohana the next day, but realized with wanting to go to EMH, etc. it was better to be closer to MK for dinner, especially before I decided to rent a car.

March 15th - Magic Kingdom - I have this day set aside for a full MK day. How late I stay at EMH the night before will determine whether I make it for rope drop or not. For lunch I have a 12:00pm ADR at Wave at the Contemporary. I think this will provide a nice break from the park but is still easily accessible via either walking or monorail. For dinner I have scheduled my first signature dining of this trip with a 7:00pm Jiko reservation. I am really looking forward to this meal as the various reviews have been outstanding and the mix of flavors offered here sound amazing. I may try to get a seat at the bar and watch some of the kitchen action.

March 16th - Hollywood Studios - After joining the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona...I mean the rush to Toy Story Mania, rocking out on a roller coaster and terrifying myself in a tower, I have a lunch ADR at 12:10 at 50's Prime Time Cafe. I liked the atmosphere in the establishment last year even if my BIL was a little upset when a food morsel was dropped on his lap when our server attempted to airplane some salmon into his mouth. Guess he shouldn't have tried to hide that he didn't finish his whole meal . Should be interesting to see how this meal goes on a solo trip. In any case it will be light meal choice and if I'm not especially hungry I could always cancel and get something really light at Starring Rolls.

I am wanting to eat very light as this day is the day I have dinner at 5:45pm at Victoria and Alberts. I originally scheduled this when my brother was considering joining me and we both thought it would be great to try a meal of this caliber. The idea of food as entertainment I find very appealing. When my brother decided it would be difficult for him to get off work, I was wondering whether I should cancel. It just didn't seem like a place for a solo meal. However, reading some of ehagarty's reviews I have decided that there is nothing wrong in indulging ones self even if alone. Now I just need to decide whether to do the wine pairing or not

Well, it is very late, so I will continue with the rest of the plans tomorrow.

 

[anthonut]

Alrighty, back to where I was in dining planning before the overwhelming urge for sleep took over last night. I had just left off with my plan for a solo visit to Victoria and Albert's.

March 17th - Epcot Day - Not sure if I will make it to rope drop or not, I may still be catatonic with digestion from the previous evening I will need to at least do some serious walking checking out the Flower and Garden festival to get ready for a lunch ADR at 1:40pm at Le Cellier. When visiting last year we were not overly hungry when we hit Le Cellier so instead of the filet the bulk of us tried the shaved prime rib sandwich. It was very good, very flavorful and just the right amount for lunch. Hopefully this year I will be in shape to try the infamous filet.

My plan is to then continue checking out the rest of the World Showcase and various Flower and Garden displays for the afternoon/evening until my 7:10pm dinner ADR at Kouzzina. I enjoy mediterranean cuisine so I'm curious to try this restaurant. Right now I am eyeing the Pastitsio but we are still over 70 days away so that choice could easily change. This evening is also EMH at Animal Kingdom. I have been curious to see Animal Kingdom at night, so there is the slight chance I will cancel the ADR to check this out.

March 18th - Open day - So i don't have any specific park plans on this day, but that doesn't mean I haven't planned some meals On past trips I haven't eaten many breakfasts so on the final days of my trip I have some reservations planned to try out breakfast at a few places rated highly by fellow DISers. First up will be Tusker House at 8:15am for another chance to try some new foods for breakfast. This will definitely be an interesting meal as it will be my first time going solo to a character meal. I'll be there for the food, but will still say hi to the crew.

After breakfast I will probably make another visit to the Yeti since I will be in the area and then may spend some time at a water park, which for this trip would have to be Typhoon Lagoon. Haven't been to TL since 1995 so it will be nice to check out some of the changes. Post splashing I will head over to the Grand Floridian for afternoon tea at 3:20pm. Once again I'm going out of my comfort zone to be a lone dude enjoying an elegant tea service, but we all enjoyed our tea last year so maybe I will just go for some various meat based products while drinking my beverage

I don't have a dinner planned for the evening. So I may just hunt down some type of counter service restaurant, possibly in Hollywood Studios as I may try to catch Fantasmic as I missed it last year.

March 19th - Unplanned - I don't have a specific park in mind for this day, most likely making a decision based on what I haven't been able to catch so far in the trip. Currently I have a 9:00am breakfast ADR at Crystal Palace mostly to check out what the Magic Kingdom is like before guests take over After a little time with Pooh and friends I may stay in MK or go to another park. No lunch plans for the day so if the urge hits I will just grab something on the run.

For dinner I have a reservation at a place I have had on my wish list for a while now, Flying Fish. I love seafoods of all types so I think this will be one of the more difficult food selections I will have on the trip. I'll have one of everything please The reservation is for 7:05 so I figure I can hopefully be finished before Illuminations to catch it one more time before departing the next day.

March 20th - Departure Day - Thankfully my flight does not leave until after 5pm so I have almost a full day to finish up what I would like to do. Possibly start the day at a park and then one final visit to DTD for last minute shopping. I have a 10:05am breakfast ADR at Kona to try some Tonga Toast. Thinking about it now I may try to move this earlier or just stop by when the restaurant opens to see if there is an earlier seating. At worse I can always grab some of the famous toast at Captain Cook's.

So those are the current plans. Given my obsessive nature about things of this nature, I'm guessing there will be some additional changes before leaving. All thoughts, suggestions or chastisements are welcome

 

[MagicalKingdom]

Where does someone suggest I take my kids to eat in the Magical Kingdom? I want a place that offers more than just grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken fingers. My husband and I have tastebuds after all too We like menus that are somewhat unique...

Where's a foodie to eat in the Magical Kingdom?

 

[anthonut]

Where does someone suggest I take my kids to eat in the Magical Kingdom? I want a place that offers more than just grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken fingers. My husband and I have tastebuds after all too We like menus that are somewhat unique...

Where's a foodie to eat in the Magical Kingdom?

Well, I find that most of the restaurants in MK, while serving good food, don't quite register as unique to me. If you are willing to take some time out of the park, though, you have a number of options at resorts along the monorail path. You may want to check out Wave at the Contemporary, Kona or Ohana (dinner only) at the Polynesian or Grand Floridian Cafe at, obviously, the Grand Floridian. These restaurants offer something a little beyond what you might find inside the MK.

I will add, that I have only tried Crystal Palace and the Plaza in the MK, so I can't tell you much about Tony's or Liberty Tree Tavern. However, nothing on the menus I have seen would make me describe the food as unique. Crystal Palace had a number of options if you like buffets and your kids may get a kick out of Pooh and friends coming to meet them.

Hope that gives you some help.

 

[anthonut]

ADRs should never feel safe around me until the moment I hit the reception podium at a restaurant

Looking at my current plan I am starting to rethink the double Boma day. If I follow the plan I have now, I will have eaten at both Boma and Tusker House 4 times. While I really enjoy their food, that may be overkill, or at the very least is lacking in variety for the trip. Reading some other trip reports, I realized that I can check in quite early at POR to at least pick up my tickets for AP upgrading. What I may do now is pick up the tickets and then head to Epcot. I can then upgrade to an AP at Epcot as well as pick up a TIW card there. This would then mean I could eat at Chefs de France. So many have had great experiences there and it would be a new place for me to try, plus I get the added bonus of Remy. At least I think he will still be featured there, if you know otherwise, please let me know.

Happy New Year!!!

 

[anthonut]

There truly is too much time from now until my trip in March. With an early dismissal because of snow I had a little extra time to continue to hone my plans. I have decided to make Saturday a full on Epcot day, so I have switched out Boma for Biergarten on the first day of the trip and moved it to Wednesday in place of Kouzzina. This gives me time to check out AK during EMH and then head over to AKL for a late dinner. This also works well as I can see Illuminations that Saturday for a great end to the day.

 

[anthonut]

So I continue to make changes to my plans. With the new room only discounts I can get a first night room at Pop Century for just a little more than my original off site hotel. Thus I have booked that and for now am planning to use ME to get to the resort. I hope to save money on the rental car and perhaps use a few taxis for the odd trip that isn't made easy with Disney transport.

With that change made I am booking dinner that Friday at Raglan Road. I missed this ADR with an upset stomach our first night last year. I see this as my makeup shot for missing it last year.

The following day I have tweaked again as well. I decided that Biergarten might be a little strange as a solo diner with the seating arrangement, therefore, I've changed that back to Chefs de France. I also really enjoyed Cape May Cafe so that is my Saturday dinner choice. It means missing Kouzzina, but I hope to add this into one of my other trips this year.

I also switched around my Monday and Tuesday, now doing DHS on Monday and MK on Tuesday. I've kept the same ADRs at 50's PTC and The Wave, just switching the days around. At this point I think I will just post a full run down of my actual ADRs right before I leave, otherwise a fear I will have to post once a day until the trip begins

 

[anthonut]

I continue to make slight tweaks to my upcoming trip. When booking Pop Century for my first night I was trying to figure out why the price I got calling Disney was slightly less than what I came up with online using the new room only discount. I figured what would it hurt to check what the price of one night at a moderate would be. So I called reservations and the CM mentioned that my Pop was booked with a PIN code. It appears I had a pin code for 35% off instead of the standard 30% for a single night. Bonus for me. So now I am booked all nights at POR so I won't have to worry about moving in the morning at only slightly higher cost than Pop. Now no worries about getting to Raglan Road easily as I can take a leisurely ride on the boat to DTD.

 

[anthonut]

Ok, I've made another small change. Now my opening night dinner is at Narcoosee's. I know that means missing Raglan Road, but I thought what better way to start off a Disney trip than some great food and Wishes. My ressie is for 8:25pm so I know I will be there during Wishes, though I'm not sure the best way to do watch them. If I get seated on time and decide to get an appetizer, will they hold off on bringing an entree until after Wishes concludes so the entree doesn't get cold? Just curious if there are any others that have dealt with this.

So the bigger news is that I have booked a quick extended weekend June (10th to 14th) trip to check out the last Star Wars weekend. People weren't kidding that when you decide to get an AP you come up with reasons to visit I made the decision to book after I discovered the pin attached to my name was good thru June 15th for 30% off a value resort. I chose POP. So I was saving a good amount on the room to begin with and I also have a free flight with Southwest that would expire before my planned October trip. I know the heat will be kicking by this point so I will be planning some afternoon pool time.

Now getting around to the food (this is a food board of course). I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to approach meals. I've decided to book a couple ADRs each day, though I'm positive I won't keep them all. But I figured best to secure ones I had been thinking about and then make changes later. Here is my current lineup.

10th - dinner at Sanaa - reviews look like food I'd love to try - new
11th - lunch - Brown Derby - probably just for a Cobb Salad - new
11th - dinner - Il Mulino - new
12th - lunch - Liberty Tree - new
12th - dinner - California Grill
13th - lunch - Coral Reef - new
13th - dinner - Kona - new
14th - nothing so far, may throw in a character meal as a send off

Guess now I need to start thinking a bit about October

 

[anthonut]

I think I have set a new record...Over one week and no modifications of ADRs for either my March or June trips. I have a sneaking suspicion that I won't be able to leave the June trip alone for a few months, however, right now I can see no modifications I would like to make for March. Now if it could only get here quicker I would be delighted. Always hard when you start receiving ME tags and other vacation items from Disney and have to wait

 

[winterman]

Anthonut,
I know what scrapple is and I really miss it. Its been 2 years since I had a scrapple and tastycake run to Pa.

 

[anthonut]

Anthonut,
I know what scrapple is and I really miss it. Its been 2 years since I had a scrapple and tastycake run to Pa.

Not sure I would make a scrapple run, but definitely get a hankering for tastycakes or a Tommy DiNic's pork sandwich now and then

 

[anthonut]

Ok, I knew there was too much time between my last post and actually leaving for my vacation. So more tweaks were in order. Most of these were made to accommodate some extended park hours that were published in the last week. In some ways its nice to know I can stay in the parks later, but it also means that they are expecting big crowds during the week. Without further ado, here are the tweaks:

Friday March 12th - was able to secure 6:30pm O'Hana ADR so will hit this as my first meal. Just hoping i can make it from airport at 3:00pm to O'hana via ME and POR.

Sunday March 14th - had O'hana this evening so switched it out for Boma. Will hit this directly from AK. I knew I could squeeze in a Boma visit

Monday March 15th - changed lunch from 50's PTC to Mama Melrose. Just not sure the antics would work as well with one. Also plan to meet a friend who will be visiting the World at the same time at ESPN Zone for dinner. If it doesn't work out for meeting up I have an ADR for Il Mulino. I know, two Italian restaurants in one day, but I'm fairly confident of ESPN.

Wednesday March 17th - switched dinner from Boma to Jiko. Jiko was on Monday, but wanted to be sure it was a day I could make. Also moved the time earlier as AK EMH now goes from 7 - 10pm. I had previously planned to eat after EMH but that was when the park closed earlier.

Thursday March 18th - moved breakfast from Tusker House to Kona Cafe. Still not fully sure of plans on this day but may try to hit some of DHS before going to a water park. Also have a dinner ADR for Sanaa, but not sure I will keep it as I may try to catch Fantasmic instead.

Saturday March 20th - changed breakfast to Cape May Cafe from Kona. Thought a character breakfast would be a nice way to start the last day.

Ok, lots of shuffling I know. I think I'll need to add a table of contents to the first post

 

[darthtatty]

lots of great ADR's booked there
cant wait to hear your reviews when you get back, take loads of pics

Have a great time.xxx

 

[anthonut]

lots of great ADR's booked there
cant wait to hear your reviews when you get back, take loads of pics

That is my plan I really hope I don't chicken out, but since I am going solo I won't at least have table mates looking obliquely at me as I pull out my camera. Now I'm just trying to decide how much I want to carry camera wise. I have a Canon 7D body which by itself has some heft as well as a number of great lenses. My 50mm f1.2 prime lens can really do inside well without flash but I'm not sure I want to carry it along with my 24-70 f2.8 zoom.

Either way I hope to post the reviews fairly soon after returning.

 

[anthonut]

Finally down to single digits before my trip, whoohooo! In addition no real changes to my ADRs either Well, I was able to move 'Ohana a half hour later to 7pm so I don't feel as worried about making it on time.

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on, have a great time!

 

[darthtatty]

wow not long to go, im sure the days will slip by.
I always get very embarrassed taking pictures of my food.
Its great you were able to change your Ohana time.

 

[anthonut]

Signing on, have a great time!

Thanks TigerKat, getting very excited, especially since the latest weather reports (i know, way to early to be accurate) show a decrease in the chance of rain.

wow not long to go, im sure the days will slip by.
I always get very embarrassed taking pictures of my food.
Its great you were able to change your Ohana time.

I know it is only a half-hour but just makes me feel like I won't be quite as rushed getting from the airport to POR to Ohana. I also need to remind myself to slow down. I have 8 days at the World and a few more hopefully the rest of the year. Thanks for the encouragement on the reviews.