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

[deenbrad]

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

I'm definitely interested!!

 

[hpfan100]

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

It was fabulous...you do need to try it. The table in the center of the room had the cobb salad and it looked amazing. I didn't see any unhappy people dining there that day.

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

Nice job getting the upgrade! I think if I did this again in the future I would just get the standard room and save some pennies. AKL was my dream resort so I was glad I tried it. Sorry your family wasn't impressed with HBD.

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).

The plan is very pricy but it does include tons of goodies. If you are looking for something other than park time you will be pretty happy with this package.

I'm definitely interested!!

Ok I'll add it in

 

[hpfan100]

So after a morning at DHS I headed back to AKL to relax and unpack. I had an appointment at Coronado Health Spa for the spa mani/pedi combination. I arrived about 20 minutes early and was taken in pretty quickly. It was only me in the salon area and it was a very long procedure (about 90 minutes). The attendant was not able to put a mickey head on my nails since she is not an employee of Disney. She also could not do a flower since she is not good at it. The treatment wasn't any better than what I receive at the local strip mall salon. OOP cost would have been 90 bucks totally not worth it but it was included. The attendant didn't charge me correctly and I had to go to the resort to get is fixed...took two trips to get it fixed.




So on to dinner....

I had a 6:15 ressie at Jiko. I was seated right away in an acceptable seat. I was offered seating at the chef's table but I choose a table instead. So for an appetizer I selected the heirloom tomato, watermelon and radish salad. Sorry the picture is terrible but the salad was amazing. The watermelon was juicy and sweet while the tomatoes were crisp and fresh. It was dressed with oil and salt/pepper. YUMMY!!!!!

Here's the bread service.

I also got a little amuse boche (spelled right???) made from watercress and tapicoa. It looks terrible but it was refreshing and tasty.

For the entree I ordered the Egyptian Kushfri??. It's from the vegetarian menu. It was a dish of lentils, Isreali couscous and cooked tomatoes. It was decent but not something I would try again. It was a little bland to be honest which stinks as I LOVE lentils.

For dessert I got the cheesecake which was gelatin free . Normally I can't have cheesecake so I was pretty excited. It was fantastic...ate the whole thing.

I can't seem to find a picture of this but trust me it was great.

OOP costs:
salad-14, entree-28, dessert- 9, drink-3, total- 54 pre tax, cost only one credit


Up next...Backstage Safari at AK and lunch at Yak/Yeti

 

[Linda67]

Love your reviews so far
We hear so little about the Platinum plan so it will be interesting to see how it works out for you
We love HBD and Jiko

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Brown Derby looks wonderful! So does Jiko! I'm veg too, so looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

 

[gardengirl628]

Great reviews so far! But $90 for a mani/pedi ! That's crazy!

 

[goodeats]

Love solo reviews! With a 3 year old and a 7 month old my fantasy right now is a week (heck a few days!) to myself with nice restaurants, pools, spas doing what I want to do. Sounds heavenly!

Did you find some restaurants better than others for solo dining? Did you read, look at your phone, or just people watch during meals?

 

[hpfan100]

Love your reviews so far
We hear so little about the Platinum plan so it will be interesting to see how it works out for you
We love HBD and Jiko

It worked really well for me. I ended up with quite a bit of goodies for a reasonable price. If there hadn't been so much time wasted correcting errors done by the IPO then I would have done even more fun activities.

Brown Derby looks wonderful! So does Jiko! I'm veg too, so looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

They were both wonderful. Jiko has a full vegetarian menu with 4 or so appetizers, 3 entrees and 3 or 4 desserts all veg safe. The bread service includes two veg breads one of which is vegan. I highly recommend it.

Great reviews so far! But $90 for a mani/pedi ! That's crazy!

Tell me about it. It was advertised as spa mani/pedi combo so I expected something a little bit better than what you get at the strip malls but it wasn't. I would say that the facial or massage would have been a better choice but live and learn. Plus I didn't pay 90 for it it was just included with my package.

Love solo reviews! With a 3 year old and a 7 month old my fantasy right now is a week (heck a few days!) to myself with nice restaurants, pools, spas doing what I want to do. Sounds heavenly!

Did you find some restaurants better than others for solo dining? Did you read, look at your phone, or just people watch during meals?

It was very heavenly. I did tons of action though too. I was on my phone and people watching during meals. The biggest issue solo dining was getting a good table. Several places stuck me in awkward areas like walk paths or right next to a party of 12. Looking back I think HBD, Jiko, The Wave and Portobello offered me the best seats. With this platinum plan you get so much food that you spend a ton of time drooling and eating. Eating alone wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was nervous about some of these nicer places but that is usually where I got the best service.

Start saving your pennies and maybe when the babies are a little older, you can splurge on that solo trip.

 

[hpfan100]

After dinner at Jiko, I cleaned up and headed to the MK. I took the bus since I didn't want to drive back to AKL at 2 in the morning. Well I only lasted until 11 pm and had to ride on a full bus standing all the way back. Not fun! On my way out of MK I stopped by the Main Street Bakery and grabbed a cinnamon roll and bottle of water using my snack credits.

I had a few bites of the cinnamon roll before packing it up. I had the rest for breakfast the next morning. It wasn't that great of a cinnamon roll. A little dry and not very tasty. The frosting was more caramelly than icing or cream cheese frosting like expected on a roll. I can't seem to find a picture of them but I'm sure we've all seen water bottles and cinnamon rolls.

OOP cost: roll-3.99, water bottle- 2.59 pre tax, used 2 snack credits

 

[hpfan100]

Day 2 begins...

So I woke up bright and early this morning to head to my first tour. I ate the rest of the cinnamon roll and a pear from home for breakfast. I headed to the Mara and filled my mug and water bottle for the day.

I drove to AK park and headed to the check in for the Backstage Safari. I got a nametag and headphone set to use during the tour. There were only 3 people on the tour and it was very nice. We got a driving tour around the back of the park and then got to go to the rhino and elephant night barns. We talked to two zookeepers and were able to see some animals in the barns. The tour also included looking at the vet center and food prep area. Did you know they feed the large cats horse meat? Weird tidbit for you out there. We were given a "snack" and a water bottle to take with us. I nabbed a bag of pretzels for my snack. THe last part was a private ride on the the Safari....very cool. It didn't stop as much as I needed to get great pictures but it was fun none the less.

OOP cost- 70 pre tax


After the tour, I headed to Yak and Yeti for lunch. I was a few minutes early and was seated right away. I got a nice seat on the second floor. Service was good. It wasn't too busy yet so it was nice to soak up some of the atmosphere.
For my appetizer I got wok fried green beans...WOW WOW WOW These things were awesome. The best little snack ever. I ate about half them.

For the entree I got Veggie Lo Mein with tofu. I've had this before and it was decent. I liked the noodles and tofu but it still needs some more veg action. I also think the portion is way too much for one person. I ate about half of it and had the rest boxed to save for later.

FOr dessert I got the wontons. YUMMY!! I liked the pineapple and strawberries better than the wontons but it was all yummy. I ate all the fruit and half of the wontons.

Here are the leftovers and my freshly painted nails.

OOP costs: green beans-8.49, noodles- 18.49, dessert- 7.99, diet coke- 3 total- 37.97 pre tax

 

[hpfan100]

Here are the wontons...

 

[DsnyMama]

Very cool!! I'm in! Great reviews so far!

 

[gardengirl628]

Wow! Yak & Yeti looks awesome!

 

[hpfan100]

Very cool!! I'm in! Great reviews so far!

welcome!!!

Wow! Yak & Yeti looks awesome!

It was pretty awesome. One of the best in park restaurants I think. It's owned by Landry's so they have a select card too that you can use to earn points and a $25 credit on your birthday. Those wok fried green beans were pretty spectacular.

 

[iloveeeyore]

I'm absolutely loving your reviews so far. The Platinum Plan is my dream someday! I'd have to tack it onto a trip somehow, so I could enjoy the parks for part of the trip and just do Platinum things during a different part. I don't recall ever reading a review of it! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm looking forward to more!

 

[hpfan100]

I'm absolutely loving your reviews so far. The Platinum Plan is my dream someday! I'd have to tack it onto a trip somehow, so I could enjoy the parks for part of the trip and just do Platinum things during a different part. I don't recall ever reading a review of it! Thanks for taking the time to do this. I'm looking forward to more!

That's how I did it. I spent 4 days before this trip at Universal and doing park stuff. On two of my 4 days at WDW I spent time in the park. The other two I did not. I think I should have planned a bit better to not have one of platinum days be my departure day but it was still pretty awesome. I think it's pretty reasonable for what you get. My advice would be to stay at Wilderness or Animal Lodge in a standard room for the min. 3 nights. If you need tickets for your trip buy them with that package since you have to get at least a one day ticket. Also stay low season during the week to save more on your room costs.

 

[iloveeeyore]

My advice would be to stay at Wilderness or Animal Lodge in a standard room for the min. 3 nights. If you need tickets for your trip buy them with that package since you have to get at least a one day ticket. Also stay low season during the week to save more on your room costs.

That is great advice! Thank you! Maybe we will tack that onto the first leg of our next split-stay!

 

[vettegirl]

Enjoying your reviews. It's rare we get a review with the Platinum Plan, sounds like a dream to me Your nails do look lovely in that last pic.

 

[Granfan]

This is so much fun to read. I've only done a dream platinum trip in my head so thanks a million for sharing yours with us. And you can't give too many details for me. ha ha

 

[CanadianPaco]

Love those wontons!!! This is going to be GREAT!!! Can't wait!