8 Days Of Dx Dining With No Weight Gain! How Did That Happen? Lots Of Pics! Completed

[somethingblue]

Not sure if you're aware but none of your photos are showing up.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

$2.99 later and all pics are restored. Sorry about that everyone!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Oh my gosh the trip is almost over! Where did the time go? I wish my work week went by this fast. On this day we separated from SIL 1 & 2 for lunch. They headed over to HS for 50's Prime Time (DH & I had no interest in that one because we don't like the interactive aspect) and DH & I headed to Epcot for Le Cellier. After a few rides and yet another viewing of Captain Eo we headed over to Canada.

When we reached the entrance there was a huge line to check in. I could hear people talking to the hostess and every single conversation was the same. Clueless Park Guest, "Yes, I would like a table for 4." Annoyed Hostess, "Do you have a reservation?" Clueless Park Guest, "Uhhhh, no. Why, do I need one?" Then they proceed to ask 900 questions. Okay, I know that not everyone going to the park knows about these things, but I was on my computer at 7am 180 days before this day, so get out of my way because I am ready for some Cheddar Cheese Soup! It was finally our turn to check in and the poor hostess looked so stressed out because almost every person ahead of us gave her such an attitude about not being able to be seated and she seemed genuinely relieved and gave us a huge smile when we said we had a reservation. After only about a minute of waiting we were seated in the New Brunswick section.

Okay, I was so excited to eat here. We had an ADR here last year on our Disneymoon and we ate lunch so late and we were so full that there was no way we could possibly eat again and we had to cancel our ADR. That killed me! So I got a lunch reservation this time so that we would absolutly be hungry when it was time for our ADR. With all the hype around this place and the build up from the last trip I thought for sure I would be disappointed. I was not! Love it here! To start I asked for only pretzel bread which was a wise move since we ate it all. For our appetizers DH got the Spicy Chicken & Chipotle Sausage which he enjoyed. I got the Cheddar Cheese Soup! Here is a shot of the soup and bread.

Delicious! It was everything I hoped it would be!

For our entree DH & I both got the Mushroom Filet Mignon.

He loved it and really loved the Risotto. I enjoyed my as well. It was a little more towards Well Done than Medium, but no big deal. I like my steak Medium, but I'm not super picky about it.

Now, the dessert was our favorite part. DH had the Campfire S'Mores.

This was his favorite dessert of the trip! I wish I had taken a picture of the plate when he was done because even the colors on the plate were almost completly gone.

I had the Chocolate On Chocolate Whiskey Cake.

Oh my gosh! I think this was maybe the best chocolate cake I have ever had. I'm trying not to think about it too much as I'm writing this because it is making my mouth water.

Overall we had a great meal here. Our waiter was super friendly and very very on the ball. Every dish was out really fast, which I like, and every dish was very tasty. Loved the service, loved the food. Officially jumping on the Le Cellier bandwagon!

Up next... Narcoossee and our nightmare bus experience to get there.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Love your update, we are trying LeCellier for our first time and I want the Filet and I love risotto. Thanks for the pictures

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Love your update, we are trying LeCellier for our first time and I want the Filet and I love risotto. Thanks for the pictures

Thank you! I would definitely recommend the Filet! It was such a nice quiet atmosphere in there and you feel so privileged just to even get in the door. I'm glad you are getting a chance to try it and I hope you enjoy it as well.

 

[mamaboogie]

Le Cellier looks wonderful! We went in 2008 and really enjoyed it too!

I can't wait to hear about your nightmare bus journey - we had one of those trying to get to breakfast at Ohana!

Really loving your wonderful reviews and pictures!

 

[Minnie J]

Wow that was alot of food. Im thinking of just doing the DP and that might be too much food for me lol Im subbing for more food porn lol

 

[Linda67]

Great update

I am really hoping I can grab a LC ADR for our trip in May

 

[disneyfav4ever]

That chocolate cake looks so good!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Le Cellier looks wonderful! We went in 2008 and really enjoyed it too!

I can't wait to hear about your nightmare bus journey - we had one of those trying to get to breakfast at Ohana!

Really loving your wonderful reviews and pictures!

Thank you so much! Oh the fun of getting from resort to resort. I think we will be taking our own car next trip to avoid that hassle.

Wow that was alot of food. Im thinking of just doing the DP and that might be too much food for me lol Im subbing for more food porn lol

Oh my gosh it was sooooo much food! DH & I can pack away some food, but even this trip proved to be too much food for us!

Great update

I am really hoping I can grab a LC ADR for our trip in May

Thanks! Keeping my fingers crossed for you that you can get an ADR

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

That chocolate cake looks so good!

Oh my goodness! It was amazing! The mousse in there was to die for!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Ughhhh, so the almost Narcoossee disaster. Okay, so the four of us hung out at the room during the evening and got all dressed up and ready to head to MK. The plan was to leave the room in plenty of time to go into MK for a few minutes, watch Wishes and head over to Narcoossee on the boat since it drops you off right outside of the restaurant and our reservations are not until 9:45 pm. We got out of the room later than I wanted to so we were gonna have to skip the fireworks in the park and just hope to catch them on the boat over to Narcoossee. We were also finally going to see the Electrical Water Pagent (or whatever it's called.)

So, we get over to the Springs bus stop at our hotel at 8:20 pm. Even if we don't catch a bus for 20 minutes we have no other stops to make within the resort. I definitely think we will still be able to catch Wishes. So we wait. And wait. And wait. And wait some more. I am starting to panic. Fireworks are now out of the question and I'm hoping that we even make dinner on time. A bus finally pulls up at 8:55. We go to get on the bus and the driver tells us we cannot get on. He says that the park closes at 9, so he's not taking anyone there. I tell him that we have reservations at Narcoossee and that we are just trying to get to MK to take the boat and that we have been waiting for a bus for over a half an hour. At this point I am almost in tears. The bus driver closes the door in our face! I am stunned. I did not anticipate this. The only other park that is still open is Epcot and there was a bus there for that park as well, but by the time we deal with the MK bus driver that bus has pulled away. I am panicing. DH thinks that maybe we should not even try to get there and just go to Turf Club or Raglan Road for dinner. No Way! I am not missing out on Narcoossee. This is our last full day and we won't have another chance to go. I suggest we take a cab and everyone shoots down that idea. A bus pulls up for DTD so we hop on it. The Springs is the last bus stop for every bus except DTD. We are the first stop. Now we sit through 4 other stops before we get to the Marketplace stop. Now we get in the line for Grand Floridian and discover that it is also the stop for Wilderness Lodge. Oh God, we are never going to get there. We wait about 5 minutes for a bus and DH is still trying to get me to abandon this and go somewhere else, but now I am just stubborn. We will get there! They will feed us! I hope.

Now we board the bus and when the driver tries to pull off he stalls out the bus. Lord give me strength! This happens everytime he has to stop the bus. If anyone from this board saw me freaking out like a 3 year old on the bus I apologize. I also apologize to all 3 year olds because my pouting was not even that dignified and way more uncalled for. Now we sit through the stop at West Side, we drop people off at Wilderness Lodge and we finally get to Grand Floridian. We go sprinting through the lobby like escaped mental patients, out the back door and down to Narcoossee. It is now 10:30 pm. Oh please let us be able to eat here. At this point I have worked myself up so bad I feel like I'm going to cry or throw up or both. I am not encouraged by what I see when we walk in. There is almost no one in the restaurant. I explain what happened to the host and he calls over a woman who looks like a manager. She was incredibly sweet! She told us she would have to check with the chef and see what was still available and see if things were already thrown out, like sauces and such, and she would come right back. "Don't worry! We will make sure you eat!" Huge sigh of relief! I was sooooo worried we would be turned away. The manager comes back and tells us that almost everything is still available and that after we are seated and when we figure out what we want she will check on each individual dish. We are seated right away and we already know what we want so the manager goes to check on the items for us. She comes back again to let us know that everything we want is still available. Okay, the worry is now gone. I am really disappointed that we missed out on the fireworks and the water pagent and we are feeling like intruders keeping the staff there late, so some of the charm and fun of eating there is gone, but I'm not complaining because at least we were able to eat, which is pretty much the whole point.

Now let me tell you about our waitress Christina. She was AMAZING!!!! We kept apologizing for keeping her late and she insisted that it was fine and to just relax and enjoy our meal. It didn't seem fake either. She was genuinely sweet about the whole thing. I really can not say enough about the wonderful service we had.

Okay, if you actually sat through all that whining I'll move onto the food. For appetizers SIL 1 had the Artisanal Cheeses which she really loved. SIL 2 had the Crab Cakes and said they were really good, but that she enjoyed the crab cakes at Brown Derby more. DH & I both had the Duck Roll.

We loved these! The flavor was really really good. Highly recommend!

For our entrees we didn't go out on a limb. SIL 2 & DH had the Filtet Mignon. SIL 1 & I had the Surf & Turf.

Oh my goodness this is so tasty. I had this dish last year and loved it. I still loved it this year, but this time I had a problem that I have heard from other people of these boards. My lobster was really really tough. SIL 1 & I had to wrestle our lobster with a sharp knife. Once we got a piece of it though we realized that the taste was still there. At this point I am so happy I was even able to get the lobster that I am totally fine with it being tough because it still tastes terrific. The potatoes were delicious as well.

At this point the restaurant is completly empty except for a family of Europeans behind us (who looked like they were in absolutly no hurry to leave)and poor Christina who was waiting on them too. I felt bad the she got stuck with the 2 tables of late eaters. We all decided on the Almond Crusted Cheesecake for dessert. DH & I had it last year and definitely wanted it again and talked SIL 1 & 2 into ordering it as well. We told our waitress what we wanted and asked if she could box them up to go. She kept telling us not to rush and that we were more than welcome to stay and eat our desserts and have some coffee. We felt really bad though and we were all full so we got our dessert to go. She also asked DH & I if we wanted a glass of champagne to celebrate or anniversary. She said, "It's free, so you might as well." We said okay and she came out with 2 glasses of champagne. She told us that they were out of the cheap stuff that they normally give you and so she gave us two glasses of "the good stuff." DH & I sipped on our champagne (which was amazing by the way) and waited for Christina to bring out our desserts. She brought out a bag which contained 4 dessert boxes and a bunch of Key Lime cookies. The desserts were boxed up, but they looked just like they did when we ate them at the restaurant last time, so here is a pic of it from last year.

We got out of there as the family behind us was ordering espresso and dessert. Okay, so we weren't the last ones in there. I felt a little bit better. Now we caught a bus to DTD and as we were on the bus a wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. All I could think was, "I feel like the little green sick emotions guy on the DISboard." Ughhhhh! It was some kind of combination of stressing myself out for 2 hours and eating lobster and champagne at 11:30 at night. I could not bear the thought of riding on another bus back to Saratoga Springs so we walked back to the hotel. I threw myself into bed with absolutly nothing packed and no shower and fell asleep with a sick belly and a feeling that I was not going to make our breakfast reservation at 1900 Park Fare the next morning.

Up next... Our last day with Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (by some kind of miracle), MK snacks and Turf Club for the third and final time.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Our last day already?! No fair! So, like I mentioned in my previous post I was really really sick the night before and I had packed up absolutly nothing. I also passed out before I could set an alarm. Fortunatly, SIL 1 & 2 and DH were awake and in the process of getting packed. I was feeling fine now and so I woke right up and started packing in a crazy rush. We had an ADR for 10:15am at 1900 Park Fare. I was ready to give up on it after our experience last night, but DH was determined that we could do it. We somehow got all our stuff packed up (and believe me we had a lot) and picked up by Bell Services to hang onto for the day (after this we are headed to Universal for 4 nights). During all this craziness I also managed to eat my almond crusted cheesecake from the night before and it was absolutly delicious! Still hungry for breakfast though! We ran out to the bus stop and up pulled a bus for MK. Finally a little bit of good bus karma coming our way. Once we got to MK we caught the boat over to Grand Floridian and we made it at 10:15 on the nose! Phew, how did that happen? On a side note, I thought for sure that the way we packed I would have left something behind, but we didn't. Out of the four of us no one forgot a single item.

Now, 1900 Park Fare. We checked in and it took FOREVER to be seated! I swore they were getting us back for being so late the night before It was crazy packed at the entrance, but after awhile it cleared out and our pager went off. Breakfast buffet, here I come!

Okay, so I was so concerned with character pictures that I completly forgot to take food pictures. D'oh!!!

I have done Crystal Palace at least once every single trip, but this time we decided to try something different for our breakfast buffet reservation. Even though I really missed my French Toast Puffs and the Breakfast Casserole with the Banana Pudding we were getting tired of pictures with Winnie The Pooh characters every time.

Oops

Oh well, still some other great and different characters at breakfast. Mad Hatter was definitely my favorite! This was a cute interaction DH & I had with him.

So, no pics of the food, but here is my review. All four of us loved it! I think we will go back again next trip. The bread pudding with vanilla sauce was super yummy and the cheesy potato casserole they had was delicious! Does anyone know if that's the same potato casserole that used to be at Crystal Palace? If it wasn't it was very similar to what they had before the one they have now. Loved it! The bacon here was cooked to absolute perfection. I am super picky about bacon and it was awesome here. The juice here was really tasty too. We were killing those little glasses of it so our waitress finally just gave us a big pitcher of it.

Now we headed back over to MK to ride some rides and use up the last of our snacks. To start, we headed towards Adventureland and stopped at Aloha Isle. I got a Root Beer float. I did not get a picture because it was overflowing and melting at the same time and it was making a mess. However, my ice cream was green. I saw other people with green ice cream as well. It didn't taste any different, but I was wondering if anyone knew why it might be green. ?? DH got his last Pineapple Float with the pineapple Dole Whip of the year. He was very sad.

We did a few more rides and then I saw it. The Eggroll Cart was finally open!

Oh how I have dreamed of this day. This stupid thing is never open when I am there! I got the shrimp and pork eggroll.

Victory! Sorry I forgot to get a close up. Man, I am slacking on the last day. The eggroll was delicious. The only thing that would have made it better would have been some Duck Sauce, but they only had Mustard and Soy Sauce packets. No big deal, it was still yummy.

Then we headed over to Tomorrowland so we could all get a cool drink from the Lunching Pad. DH loooooves the Frozen Coke drinks there. I got a Solar Coca Cola/Blast-Off Blue Raspberry mix and DH got a Solar Coca Cola/Cherry Eclipse mix.

These are so tasty and really help cool you down on those hot WDW days. I think DH used 5 of his snack credits on these during our trip.

Now we were headed back to our hotel for our last Turf Club meal before the towncar service was picking us up.

For appetizer DH again had the Roasted Mushrooms stuffed with Spinach, Cheese and Garlic.

I once again had the Crab Cakes. I told ya I loved these things!

For our entree DH had the Prime Rib again and loved it even more the second time. I had the Turf Club Pasta.

This had really good flavor and a surprisingly large number of shrimp in it. My only complaint was the type of pasta they used. An angel hair pasta or spaghetti noodles would have been easier to twirl and eat and a penne pasta would have been easier to eat with a fork. These noodles were so thick that it was hard to twirl, but it would slide off the fork. A lot of the pasta got left behind simply because I couldn't get it from the plate to my mouth. It was tasty though.

For dessert DH got the Banana Cheesecake for the third time and I got the Apple Crisp for the thrid time.

Another satisfying meal at Turf Club.

Now as for the title of this food report...8 Days With No Weight Gain, well, it's true! I can't believe it! As for how I didn't gain any weight my only idea is that it's because I SWEAT MY BUTT OFF FOR 8 DAYS! Man oh man was it hot out every single day. I also only wear jeans, so I was extra hot.

Oh my gosh I can't believe that my Food Report is done! This has been so much fun! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading along with me and thanks to everyone for all the encouraging posts and messages! They were very very appreciated I hate to stop reliving my trip, so I think I will have to start a Trip report next.

Thanks again everyone. You guys are the best! See ya on the boards

 

[Teri1]

Jerseytinkerbell you wrote a very fun review to read. You ate at places we have not tried before, so now I have another reason to return to WDW. I completely understand your determination to get a bus to the restaurant. We just got back from 8 nights there and one evening we waited for a bus to the Swan and Dolphin from Downtown Disney for over 30 min. trying to get to Fantasia Gardens golf only to give up and go on to the Coronado Springs bus stop to make an early appearance ADR for Maya Grille. We then took a bus from there after dinner to DHS and then a boat to the S&D to play golf after dark. It worked out but stresses you a bit.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

LOVE your update on Narcoossee's, we love eating at Narcoossee's and Im so glad you were able to go even with all the stress.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

I really liked your dining review! I hope you'll do another one next time you visit wdw

 

[LisaD.]

Thanks for all your information. I was on the fence about California Grill but now I am excited.

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Jerseytinkerbell you wrote a very fun review to read. You ate at places we have not tried before, so now I have another reason to return to WDW. I completely understand your determination to get a bus to the restaurant. We just got back from 8 nights there and one evening we waited for a bus to the Swan and Dolphin from Downtown Disney for over 30 min. trying to get to Fantasia Gardens golf only to give up and go on to the Coronado Springs bus stop to make an early appearance ADR for Maya Grille. We then took a bus from there after dinner to DHS and then a boat to the S&D to play golf after dark. It worked out but stresses you a bit.

I do love the Disney buses when getting from the the resort to the park and back again, but resort to resort tends to try my patience. DH & I have driven every time but this one and we were really regretting not having our car on more than one occasion. How was Fantasia Gardens? I really want to check out mini golf on the next trip.

LOVE your update on Narcoossee's, we love eating at Narcoossee's and Im so glad you were able to go even with all the stress.

Thanks P&OH! That food was definitely worth the stress!

I really liked your dining review! I hope you'll do another one next time you visit wdw

Thank you! I definitely will! We are hoping to go next year for F&W, but DH is losing his job in a few weeks and is headed back to college to finish his degree and we are getting ready to put our house on the market so we will see what our finances are like next year. <crossing my fingers!>

Thanks for all your information. I was on the fence about California Grill but now I am excited.

Oh my gosh yes, get excited! CG has become my favorite over the last 2 trips. It has been my best restaurant experience in food, service and atmosphere the past 2 trips. I hope you enjoy it there!

 

[MickeyReeds]

Great food report! I enjoyed reading about a lot of unique places! Sounds like you had a great trip!

 

[athenna]

Awesome dining reviews, thanks so much for reporting!