7 Days on DxDP The Good, Bad, & Why I'll Never Do Again with Kids - Update AP!

[lissawynn]

We had breakfast from RF on several mornings. We had the bounty platter, adult breakfast platter, pancakes, pecan cinnamon bun, and oatmeal. Everything was hot and fresh. We did encounter the "dreaded Disney bacon" on this trip. It seemed as though everywhere we went the bacon was undercooked, limp, and tasteless. I enjoy bacon and was disappointed by this. DH ate oatmeal several times and loved it. Because we all had refillable mugs, we usually got Quick, bottled water, or oj to take back to the villa. We ate in our room, too.

We got dinner from RF on the day we had Tutto for lunch. The kids didn't love Epcot as much as I'd hoped, and we were all too hot and tired to head out for dinner in WS. DD was my "helper" and headed to RF with me to pick up dinner. We had a cheese flatbread, grilled chicken sandwich, and chicken nugget and fries meal. DH really enjoyed his chicken sandwich, and DS loved the pizza. DD picked at the chicken nuggets. Again, too much breading on the chicken. I picked at everything, and it was all tasty. For dessert we had a sugar cookie with sprinkles, a magical cookie bar, and a Mickey crispy rice treat. All the desserts were good, too.

I've always been happy with RF and the offerings there. It's not too far from the villas, and that makes it easy to grab something or fill you mug.

 

[butiflfeet]

We love Tutto too! We've never had a bad meal there and the service is always good. I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[lissawynn]

After a change in plans for Wednesday, we headed to DHS to hit TSM and ToT. DS and DD both rode ToT, so we were thrilled about that. After hanging out at DHS for a few hours, the kids had had enough. Because I'm a teacher, the summer is really the only time I can take an extended trip to the World. The bad part about this is the heat and trying to keep two small children happy and semi-cool on a summer trip. This was one of those days when they'd had enough before lunch time. Rather than experience another meltdown (for the kids or me), we headed to the boat dock and took a ride to the Beach Club for lunch at Beaches & Cream. The boat arrived quickly, as did the rain, and we enjoyed a nice ride to the hotel. I think we checked-in at B&C before noon and did not have to wait for a table. Again, we were given a round, four-top table; not idea for two small kids, but beggers can't be choosers.
I believe Maria was our server. She was our server two years ago when we visited as a family, and several of the other servers looked familiar to me, too. Maria did not ask if we were on a dining plan, and I think we may have missed out on an appetizer here. No worries because we had entirely too much food anyway. DH ordered an unsweetened tea, I had a vanilla Coke, DS was allowed to have a Coke, and DD had chocolate milk. I ordered the chicken ceasar salad, DH got the grilled chicken sandwich, and both kids got the hot dog. My salad was HUGE. It had at least one grilled chicken breast on it, it not more. It was served on a bowlful of ice cold lettuce. I may have eaten 1/3 of the lettuce; there was just too much. This is something two people could easily share. DH enjoyed his chicken sandwich. I believe it was served with fried, lettuce, tomato, and raw onions. The kids had their hot dogs with fried and really liked them. No one had a problem with whole wheat buns. They did seem to fall apart easily, but no one complained. After we finished with our entrees, Maria asked if we were interested in dessert. It was at this time that we told her we were on the DxDP. Both kids got the Mickey sundae with their meals; DS got strawberry ice cream with his, and DD got vanilla (or banilla as she calls it). DH was full, again, but he wanted something orange. He got the Frozen Sunshine. I have been dreaming about a banana split from B&C since my trip last summer, so that's what I had. DH enjoyed his Frozen Sunshine, but the portion was huge. His shake glass with full, and so was the mixer container. The kids enjoyed tasting his drink. My banana split was delicious and enormous. I love the almond slivers, whipped cream, and crushed pineapple. I ate as much of it as I could, but it was a poor effort at best. DH jumped in and had some banana and gave some to the kids, too. This was another meal where we could have been rolled out of the restaurant.
We will go back to Beaches & Cream again on our next trip. Although the food isn't fancy, it's always been good. Also, their sundaes are to die for delicious. We used to have a local restaurant that made banana splits along the lines of B&C's splits. That was my favorite treat when I was pregnant with the kids (after I'd eaten a dozen wings with celery and bleu cheese), but they closed a few years ago. One of the things I most look forward to on a WDW trip is a stop at B&C. If you hit it at an off time, you should have little to no wait for a table. As we were leaving, there were several parties waiting outside for a table.

Up next...We take one for the team in order to maintain peace and harmony.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Loving your reviews so far. I am a hampton's lover. Though I found some of them serve better breakfasts. The last one I stayed at had these ham and cheese scrambled eggs that were sooo good everyone found themselves getting more and more and more !

Im glad you share my affinity towards B n C ! Cannot wait to read more reviews.

 

[lissawynn]

After our adventure at B&C, we took a stroll through WS. We hit the American Pavilion in time to see the performance by the singers, whose name is escaping me at this moment. The kids also did a mask at the very shady and cool Kidcot station. The CM there was very nice, and it was fun for them while we waited for the AA performance. I would have loved to spend more time in WS, but it was HOT. Like Africa hot. The kids were not interested in doing the boat rides in Norway or Mexico again, so we compromised and headed back to VWL for a swim. On the way DH and I began discussing our dinner plans. We had an ADR for Flying Fish, and this was to be our anniversary dinner. However, after some talking we realized that it would be quite an ordeal to get the kids to leave the pool to shower, dress, and take the journey to the Boardwalk. When we got back to the room I called Disney dining and got an ADR for Artist Point. Now DH and I ate at AP on our Disneymoon eight years earlier, and it was not a meal worth writing home about. Our server was peeved that we weren't ordering wine and four courses worth of food, and DH had to send his salmon back twice before it was cooked through. I had read so many better reviews since then, so we thought we'd give it a shot.

 

[scanne]

Looking forward to your Artist Point review! We're eating there on our last night and I'm really looking forward to it. We'll be on the deluxe dining plan, so any tips about what is/isn't included would be great!

Thanks for taking the time to share your reviews!

 

[Dismom55]

I am enjoying your reviews, we are in the midst of planning, just waiting to be able to make ressies and all. So the info given is quite helpful.

Thanks

 

[lilandvisma]

Enjoy reading your reviews My DD#2 is 3 as well and I totally understand what you mean by the whole not eating thing. She will eat really good for a few days and then hardly eat anything at all for the next couple. It must have something to do with the age, good to know we aren't the only ones going through this LOL.

 

[lissawynn]

Thanks for reading, everyone! I'll get back to it tonight after the kiddos are in bed. It's so much easier to recall what we had when no one is screaming or crying.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Great update...

 

[AlexandAndysMom]

These are great! Thanks for taking the time, can't wait to read more!

 

[mousecatcher]

Subbing in and looking forward to the rest of the adventure.

 

[lebeau]

When I checked in, I was promptly told I did not have an ADR. I told the CM I had a confirmation number, and she told me she couldn't find it. She said she would add our name and we'd be called soon.

This happened to us last trip with one of our ADRs. Fortunately, they got us seated pretty quickly. But it made me wonder why I went to the trouble of making ADRs months in advance and verifying them right before the trip if Disney was just going to loose them. Once they do, your out of luck.

 

[lissawynn]

Sorry I haven't done my AP review yet. Too often life gets in the way of fun stuff like reliving our yummy meals at WDW. It's raining and yucky here today, so I hope to get some more reviews done.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Dismom55]

We also had an encounter with lost ADR, I gave them the number then I was told that ADR was for the day before. I told the lady, impossible as we were not even in Disney the day before, they seated us within 5 minutes. All the rest of our ADR's went smoothly.

But it does make you wonder why we go thru the hassle to make ADR's, then again I had an ADR number and that may have made all the difference.

 

[lissawynn]

Sorry for the delay. I wanted to find my receipts so I could accurately account what we ate and also include the name of our server.
Ok, so we cancelled our ARD for Flying Fish. In the sake of keeping the peace and my sanity intact, I just couldn't justify making everyone shower, get dressed, and then go back to Epcot/Boardwalk. I called Disney Dining and was able to get an ADR for Artist Point for 6:15. This gave everyone time to rest, shower, and take a break.
We arrived at AP after a short walk from VWL. There were a few occupied tables in the restaurant, but for the most part, it was pretty empty. We were seated in the middle of the restaurant, just a few tables away from the entrance. While I don't usually like being seated in the center of the room, there were no other parties in our area.
Sean was our server, and he was fantastic throughout our entire meal. As per usual DH had unsweetened tea, I had a Diet Coke, and the kids had juice. The kids' juice came with Mickey straws, and they were thrilled to have them. We did keep them and now they can have a little Disney magic at home.
DH started with the seasonal salad. It was spinach with crisp bacon, radishes, hard-cooked eggs, and mustard vinaigrette. He LOVED this. These are some of his favorite salad ingredients, and he ate every bite. I started with the crab cakes. Sean told us AP got a new chef a few weeks before, and this was one of the changes he made to the menu. The crab cakes were good, but again, I'd like a lot more lump crab mean (not the shredded stuff) and a lot less filler. Both kids started with fruit and ate only the grapes and pineapple. I guess they aren't melon fans.
For his entree DH chose the pan seared halibut with dungeness crap risotto and blood orange sauce. He was in heaven. I tasted I bite of his fish, and it was delicious. It was cooked perfectly. Because we were on the DxDP, we were entitled to an additional side. DH chose the asparagus and loved it. I ordered the grilled beef tenderloin with zellowood cornbread pudding, oven dried tomatoes, asparagus and lemon-herb butter sauce. I did order my steak correctly, and it was a perfect medium rare. I got a side of truffle fries. I wanted to love this steak, and don't get me wrong, it was good. However, it was not the best steak I've ever had at WDW. I'd have to say my filet at Le Cellier was better, as was my tenderloin at California Grill. DD had the grilled chicken breast and ate a few bites. DS had the mac and cheese and ate most of what he was given.
For dessert Dh ordered the seasonal berry cobbler. DH is still talking about this dessert. He gets that dreamy far away look in his eyes like he's remembering a long lost love. Seriously, he loved this. He is a berry man and was pleased that there wasn't too much cobbler to overshadow the berries. I also had the cobbler, which was served with ice cream (don't remember what kind), and it was very good. Both kids had ice cream - chocolate for DD and vanilla for DS.
Our service was wonderful, and the food was delicious. AP is very quiet and relaxing. There were a lot of children here, but all were relavtively quiet and well-behaved.
After a shoddy trip to AP eight years ago, I would have no reservations about returning here. While DH ate fish at almost every sit-down meal we had, he was tossing around the idea of ordering the buffalo. Maybe that will be next time.

After our dinner here, we received a call from the manager of AP. He gave us his personal number and told us not to hesitate to contact him should we want to dine there again. A very nice touch and something that makes Disney above and beyond other places.

 

[lissawynn]

Thursday, July 1
Today was our second stop at DHS. I went to Roarin' Forks (again) and got some breakfast. I believe I got myself a cinnamon roll, a side of oatmeal for DH, and pancakes for the kids. DH also continued to drink the WDW coffee without complaint. I didn't want to buy too much food because we had an 11:40 A.M. ADR for Sci-Fi Dine In. Last summer my sister and I took our kids here for lunch. Our food was very good, and our service was some of the best we had on that trip. Case in point: I ordered a kid's man-n-cheese meal for my kids to share, thinking DD wouldn't eat that much. They were nice enough to split the meal for us, and each child had his/her own plate. Well, my DS inhaled his food. Our waitress, seeing that DH had eaten his food, came to our table with another complete mac-n-cheese lunch for him. He was thrilled! She explained that he looked like he needed more food, and there would be no additional cost. After such a great experience, I was hoping for the same this trip. That wasn't in the cards.

 

[vinotinto]

Great reports! I love that you tell it like it is. My kids will be 3 and 5 when we go, and we'll also have the DxDP, so I'll be following along.