9 meals, 6 snacks and 1 vegetarian, 4 days of platinum dining

[hpfan100]

Hello everyone

I just returned from 8 days in Orlando. Four of them at Universal and 4 at WDW . I decided to splurge and stay at AKL in the savannah view room and get the platinum package. Since I stayed for 3 nights I earned 9 meal credits (can be used anywhere even signatures), 6 snack credits and a refillable mug.


More about me:

This is my 4th trip to Orlando in the past three years. I first went in summer 2010 for the grand opening of WWoHP and decided to tack on WDW. I didn't get enough time at WDW that time so I went over labor day weekend 2010. Then I doubled dipped in July 2011 and July 2012.
I've been a vegetarian now for about 3 years. I love salads and bread. Hummus and pitas are one of my favorite snacks. I have read many dining reports from other veggies and really was looking forward to dining well at WDW. Be forewarned I had tons of trouble with my platinum plan so that made some of my dining experiences very poor but most were excellent and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Here's the breakdown of meals to look forward to:

Day 1:
lunch- Brown Derby
dinner- Jiko
snack credits- Main Street Bakery

Day2:
lunch- Yak/Yeti
dinner- La Hacienda
snack credits- Norway Bakery

Day 3:
breakfast- Boma
late lunch- Portobello
dinner- Citrico's

Day 4:
late breakfast- The Wave
lunch- Sanaa
snack credits: Mickey licorice, Chip and Dale trail mix

first up...Brown Derby

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

I'm in!

 

[tash439]

Can't wait to hear about your Platinum Dining Plan experience!

 

[Laura]

I'm in! Looking forward to your reviews!

 

[hpfan100]

Count me in!

I'm in!

Can't wait to hear about your Platinum Dining Plan experience!

I'm in! Looking forward to your reviews!

Welcome everyone!!!!!

I'm working on loading my food porn onto photobucket so then I'll be ready to start posting meals tomorrow.

 

[hpfan100]

I stayed at AKL...

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
Can't wait for your reviews!!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I'm in!

 

[deenbrad]

I can't wait to read about this! I always wonder if we could make premium/platinum worth it!

 

[butiflfeet]

Platinum Dining? I am so in for this!

 

[jedijill]

I'm in! I AKL!

Jill in CO

 

[Brave Merida]

I'm in. looks like a GREAT lineup!

 

[emmysmommy]

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

 

[hpfan100]

Hi
Can't wait for your reviews!!

I'm in!

I can't wait to read about this! I always wonder if we could make premium/platinum worth it!

Platinum Dining? I am so in for this!

I'm in! I AKL!

Jill in CO

I'm in. looks like a GREAT lineup!

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

Hello readers!!!!

Looking forward to showing you all the goodies I got to splurge on during this trip...Hope you enjoy!

 

[hpfan100]

Here we go...

I woke up early on Sunday to head to AKL and get my KTTW card as I would need it for my ressies. I arrived at AKL around 7:15 and was able to check in. My room was ready but I hadn't brought my luggage in with me so I didn't go there right away. After check in I headed to Mara to get my mug and to fill it up. I believe I selected Diet Coke for this fill up. Then it was back to the car and off to DHS.

I got there early and was able to walk in at 8:40 when they opened up. I rode TSMM and others with little to no wait. It was pretty muggy out and I was feeling really tired so I spent most of the time riding those long indoor rides.

My ressie was for 12:15. i arrived at about 12:00 to check in and I was seated right away. I got a nice little table on the upper level so I could look around the whole dining area. It's a spectacular place. Service was top notch.

I started with bread and a Diet Coke to drink. The waitress offered me olive oil instead of butter which I prefer so that was nice. The rolls were warm and soft on the inside. The outside was a nice crusty texture. I ate 2 rolls and dipped them in the olive oil. YUMMY!!!!

Next up was the appetizer. I selected the bib salad as the cobb salad is served family size. It was awesome!!!! The radishes and lettuce were crisp. The tomatoes were sweet and the dressing was nice. I was able to get it on the side which was good as I like little dressing on my salads.

For the entree I selected the only vegetarian option but I was excited about it. The coconut crusted tofu noodle bowl. The bowl came with tons of broth and noodles along with baby bok choy, snap peas, and mushrooms. The piece of tofu was a good size. It was covered in a coconut crust and cooked so that it made a breading effect on it. It had good flavors but the tofu was clearly a softer variety and was a little mushy. The snap peas and the mushrooms could have been cooked a bit longer but otherwise it was a yummy dish. It was too much for one person.

Finally, it was time for dessert. I decided to get the house specialty: grapefruit cake. It was a lovely little cake. It was a white cake sliced into thin layers with cream cheese frosting and grapefruit spread between the layers. It was moist and flavorful. The sweetness of the icing and the tartness of the grapefruit were good compliments for each other.

I ate all of my salad, 2 rolls, half of my entree and half of the cake. They boxed up the rest of the cake for me to take with me but I never had time to finish it.

Overall I'd rate the Brown Derby: excellent.

atmosphere/seating: 5/5
service: 5/5
food: 4.5/5 for the undercooked vegetables and soft tofu

OOP cost pre tax:
salad: 10
entree: 28
dessert:7
drink:3
total: 48 pre tax, cost me one credit


up next: Jiko...the dinner that never ends

 

[hpfan100]

I probably should have put this at the beginning but oh well.

With the platinum plan you get three meal credits and 2 snacks per night. These meal credits can be used at any restaurant (counter, table, signature, dinner show, room service). Obviously the best use of credits is at signature and dinner shows as the prices are higher but some of the table are pricy too.

You also get unlimited recreation (parasailing, biking, horse riding, golfing, min golfing, fishing etc.), unlimited entry to included tours, one ticket to La Nouba per person, one spa treatment per person, one wishes or illuminations cruise per package, one photpass cd per package, and one Richard Petty experience per package.
Requirements are that you stay at a deluxe or deluxe villa hotel and pay rack rate plus you must by at least a one day ticket and a 3 night min. stay is required.

It can be a pretty pricy option but if you are interested in tours, spa treatments, fine dining or dinner shows, La Nouba and the cruise then you come out ahead.

I can include my tours and such in the price breakdown if people are interested in hearing about that too.


Hope you enjoy the reviews

 

[happy2012]

Someday I gotta try BD!!! mmmmm. Looks good!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

The platinum plan sounds amazing - interested to see how it compares by the $$$$ to oop. We were lucky enough to be upgraded from standard view to Savannah view last year at AKL - the resort of my son's dreams. (Already stayed at DDs dream resort - GF in 2007 and hopefully staying in my dream resort of BC this year).

I loved HBD but the rest of my family weren't overly impressed.

Can't wait for the rest

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Interesting to hear about the platinum plan! It doesn't surprise me that it costs a lot, but seeing how much it includes is incredible! Someday, I'd love to try that, even if it's just for three nights.

And I'm happy that you enjoyed Brown Derby, as it's one of my favorite Disney restaurants. I agree with you - great food and service (especially for a restaurant located in a theme park).