A Christmas Dining Extravaganza

[tyandskyesmom]

Crystal Palace

We had an ADR here for 10:10am, arrived about 9:45am and were seated in about 10 minutes.

So we were called in and we were seated to the left (the side we have always been seated on) right along the edge...great seats as far as we were concerned as we were right by the buffet! Our waiter was Amir and he was a buffet server. Tyler ordered OJ, Skye an apple juice, Cary a chocolate milk and I think I had iced tea. We had a bit before the characters started coming around so we got some food.

Tyler's first place...toast, bacon, cinnamon roll and scrambled eggs.

Skyler's first couple of plates ... Mickey Waffles, Poohs' Puffed French Toast, hard boiled egg, bacon, scrambled eggs, bagel, and a pancake.

This is either me or Cary (I'm thinking Cary's because of all the bacon!)...fruit salad, Pooh's Puffed French Toast, bacon and it looks like an omelet???

This I think was mine. Potatoes, bacon, sausage, cheesy hash browns, corned beef hash, looks like a cinnamon roll but theor's don't actually look like that so I am not sure what that is, Pooh's Puffed French Toast, a Mickey waffle and something else I can't see.

Eeyore was the first around, which made us very happy since he is usually the one we are waiting around for. He just seems to move through very slowly!

And there's Skye's fruit loops.

Then Pooh came by...

I don't know what the next one is!

Piglet was next and "commented" on Tyler's height! Skyler wanted us to eat or hide all pork products while Piglet was there!

Then Tigger came through...

Usually we are here longer waiting on characters, usually Eeyore. We even left without seeing Eeyore once because we were coming a different day for lunch and we were tired of waiting. Today, everyone filed around in quick succession but we did not feel rushed by anyone.

We were leaving by 11:10am.

We love the breakfast here. We are not crazy about the lunch or dinner buffet though. We will be back to Crystal Palace. It is a great breakfast, with fun characters in a beautiful setting.

TOTAL = $127.76 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1143.70
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 27 MEAL CREDITS

 

[phabric]

Enjoyed reading your review with pictures. We will be going to some of the same restaurants in August.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

We had a lunch ADR at Coral Reef at 3:05pm. A little early but I know they never seat us early so it wasn't that early.

Skyler had a thing this trip with taking pictures with all the Christmas Trees.

We were seated in the back row. I thought the kids would flip! The always want the table along the tank. The furthest away we've ever been seated was the first row along the tables. But no one has a problem. I used to be of the mind that there were bad seats in the house but after sitting where we were this time, I have decided this is the best place to sit. Yes, along the tank you may be close up but you can only see that one window but where we were, we could see all of them.

Our waitress was Yayoi. She was a little hard to understand but very nice and efficient. She brought our bread and butter.

And took our drink orders...the usual.

For appetizers Skyler has a garden Salad with ranch on the side...which is not on the menu but they had no problem bringing her one.

Cary got a Caesar Salad...with shredded parmesan and croutons...

And I got Heirloom Tomatoes - sherry vinegar, Tuscan olive oil, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic reduction...

All of our salads were to our liking but mine was the clear winner. Oh, and we decided on ordering three meals this time because we were not all super hungry. So Skyler had the appetizer of one meal and Tyler got the entrée.

For our entrees we had...

Cary...Grilled New York Strip Steak medium well - served with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, seasonal vegetables and bercy butter

Tyler has the same but medium rare and subbed fries for his mashed potatoes and Skyler snagged the green beans!

And I ordered the Shrimp and Grits - jumbo shrimp, cheddar grits, local corn succotash, Andouille sausage, and Creole spice emulsion.

This was really good! The grits were probably better than the shrimp actually! But the whole thing together was great! I don't know how they did not get tired of steak all the time!

For desserts we had the Turtle Cheesecake - chantilly cream and hazelnut praline

The Chocolate Wave - served with Raspberry Gelato

Coconut-Mango Chiffon Cake - with raspberry sauce (to go)

The turtle cheesecake and the wave were great. All of us ate off of them! The "exotic dessert" as it says on the receipt, I am not sure we even tasted...it looked like a soft boiled egg sliced in half!

Food is always great here. The wait staff and waiting times to be seated have always been our downfalls. This time we have none! Yayoi was very nice and accommodating, we didn't wait long even arriving slightly early, our food was great and where else can you dine "under the sea"?!? We do not understand all the bad reviews. Coral Reef is always on our medium list to return to.

TOTAL = $159.13 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1302.83
USED 3 CREDITS ... USED 30 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Narcoossee's

So we checked into Narcoossee's slightly early and had a short wait.

We were seated on the raised section along the rail away from the window. We have always been at the window before but these seats gave a great view. Our server was Patty. She was a little short with us...like once she knew we weren't ordering wine and a ton of liquor and that we decided to split three meals because I still wasn't feeling well, she did not want to take too much of her time on us. This is very odd for servers at Narcoossee's. We have been here many times and never have we had a complaint about service!

Patti took our drink orders...a Sprite for me and Skyler, a Coke for Tyler and a Samuel Adams for Cary (he had two throughout the dinner actually)...and brought our bread.

Love the pink sea salt! I have almost bought it a couple of times at home but so far I haven't!

Like I said, we decided to order three meals and I'd pick off of Cary and Skye's (cause there was no way Tyler was sharing!). So for appetizers Skyler ordered Slow-poached and Chilled Shrimp ... with Citrus Remoulade.

She picked the shrimp off the top. I think Cary had one or two too. I tasted the remoulade and it was very good but she wasn't trying it. Cary also liked it.

I got the Maine Lobster Bisque ... butter-poached Lobster, Coral, and Chives...which I was toying with even before I didn't feel well.

It was very good. It has a lot of lobster in it and even though it is creamy, it wasn't heavy.

Now, let me offer a slight explanation. The kids are cheese freaks! They can blow through a block of cheddar or mozzarella or muenster lie no body's business. Grilled cheese, quesedillas, mac and cheese...all favorites. So Tyler didn't see anything that thrilled him on the appetizer list so he got the Artisanal Cheeses ... Five tasting portions from around the world with accompaniments. Figured why not??

Honestly, we know very little about fancy cheeses even after reading about them. And he wouldn't tough them! He made Cary be the guinea pig. And Skyler would jump in if Cary said they were ok. I wasn't up for tasting tonight. I am not sure which is which anymore...I think we had it figured out at the time though. I want to say the liked the block, the second from the right. I think they were ok with the middle wedge. Two of the others they just didn't like. And the last one (I think it was the small rectangular one second from the left) Skyler wouldn't even try because Cary actually look like he wanted to spit it right back out. LOL...he didn't but he said it tasted like spoiled milk. But you know what that means, right? We laughed our butts off! And no one else would taste it. And anytime Tyler did not find something he wanted on the appetizer menu, a cheese plate was his choice. And notice, HE did not eat any! But I have to say, I am glad we did this because I am always seeing these beautiful cheese plates come out and I am always wondering about them. I would never pay to find out, but since we technically weren't paying, this was a great time to experiment. I don't think out palates are quite refined enough to completely enjoy a cheese plate but it was a fun (and funny sometimes) experiment to work through when we could!

Once we got finished playing with our cheese, our entrees came. Skyler ordered the Steamed Maine Lobster and Fallen Corn Souffle ...with malted popcorn sauce and Delta asparagus finished with citrus gremolata.

She was so excited to be able to order a meal like this! She ateabout half the lobster (don't worry, it did not go to waste) and the broccoli but wouldn't touch the corn soufflé. He lobster was perfect! The corn soufflé was good but the potatoes they used to serve were much better!

The boys both ordered the filet and lobster tail which I no longer see on the menu??? It was the filet with Boniato-Idaho potato mash and green & wax beans.

That is Cary's done medium well. His filet was sliced through the center to cook it to his desired done-ness. It was perfect. I even liked it and I generally like mine red and bloody! His potatoes were really good and the beans were too. That is something Disney restaurants do really well...green beans!

Tyler's looked like this...

A little less exciting with those darned French fries on the plate! Skyler snagged his beans. He ate everything else except about half on one half of the tail. His filet was cooked whole and much more to my liking...he gave me one little bite.

All our entrees were wonderful. And there was plenty for the four of us...and we are not normally sharers! I was starting to feel a bit better but I was glad I did not order my own meal because we probably would have ended up taking most of it back with us and then not eating it.

Now it was time for dessert. We ordered the Narcoossee's Candy Bar - Dark chocolate-mocha bar with house-made guanaja chocolate gelato.

This is another one that they need to give you a big glass of milk with it...it was really chocolaty and good!

The Chocolate Torte, a no sugar added dessert - with Chocolate Crème and Raspberries.

That was also very good!

And my personal favorite dessert maybe in all of Disney World the Almond-Crusted Cheesecake ... with Lambert Cherry Sauce.

And yep, it's still my favorite! Even not feeling my best, I ate most of this!

So all in all, even not feeling well, this was a great meal! But it's not a cheap one! We were leaving about 11:30pm. I am sure we will be back here...especially when we are on the dining plan. Off of it, maybe not...only for a special occasion but we love Narcoossee's!

TOTAL = $349.93 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1653.76
USED 6 CREDITS ... USED 36 MEAL CREDITS

 

[nimbuscat]

Following along! This is great--I love deluxe dining reviews!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Tuskerhouse

Well, we found ourselves at Tuskerhouse a couple of minutes early. We like to schedule an early, before park opening meal here because you get in the park early but also because you don't have a wait. It seems like this one of those places that people linger. So we did have a small wait for our 10:30am breakfast seating.

Once we were called, we were seated in the main room towards the middle but in the back half. Our server was David E. We had their juice all around and I think Cary also has a chocolate milk, Tyler an orange juice, and Skyler an apple juice. I was the only on who went straight juice!

We had some time before characters started their onslaught so we got food!

Tyler's bacon, Mickey waffles, cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs and a glazed Krispy Kreme donut hole.

Skyler's Mickey Waffles, tater tots, scrambled eggs, looks like a sausage but that seems odd for Skye so maybe not???, and jasmine rice.

I think this is mine?...Crossaint, donut holes, Danish, rice, plantain, Mickey waffles, cheesy egg frittata, cheese blintz with cherries, bacon, ham.

I think this is Cary...but tater tots, donut holes, bacon, bagel, and maybe a plantain???

Tyler's bowl o holes!


And Daisy was the first one around!

Waiting...and that is probably Skyler's plate with a cheese chunk, hard boiled egg, and I don't know what else!

Donald was next...

Then Goofy...

Then Mickey!

As you can see, we had a slight build up of dirty dishes on our table at times. But our drinks were always filled when needed so I guess I can let the dishes slide.

We were here about an hour. We could have been out sooner if it was just food...we tend to eat quickly...but we waited for the gang to come around.

We love Tuskerhouse...even lunch, and we don't even like many buffets for lunch or dinner to that's saying something...but breakfast is our favorite. Tuskerhouse is one our list every time. Without a dining plan, maybe not because the kids, especially Skyler, do not eat what the cost but if we are on the dining plan, it will always make the cut!

TOTAL = 127.76 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1781.52
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 40 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Next we stopped at Chakranadi for a Blue PowerAde, Mickey Pretzel, and a cone of glazed pecans.

The pretzel was hot and soft, and shaped like Mickey's head so of course it was great! The pecans lasted us a while but they are soooo good! And we needed the PowerAde...it was getting hot!

Our total was $14.35 but we used 3 snack credits.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Then we stopped at Tamu Tamu for a Mickey Ice Cream Sundae - hand-dipped vanilla ice cream with two chocolate-chip cookies

Except those aren't chocolate chip cookies.

And a Pineapple Dole Whip Cup

For a total of $9.45 or 2 snack credits. They were both good and refreshing!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Cape May Café

We were seated right about at our ADR time...right in the middle of the room close to the buffet. Our server was Wang and she was good. Our drinks were always full and our plates cleaned form the table. Cary was starting to not feel very well. Which really stunk because he loves everything at this buffet. He has some stomach issues that are un-diagnosed but mostly he can control with Nexium but for some reason it wasn't helping. We later found it seems to involve caffeine and once we figured that out he stopped drinking coffee and monsters and he mostly drinks Sprite and Root Beer and he has been so much better! Anyway we dug in.

Skye's mac & Cheese. cheese pizza, and green beans.

My Crab legs, a rib, boiled red potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes,, a crisp, olives, and some dip type thing under the crisp...can't tell what is was but I assume it went with the crisp.

Ty's cheese pizza, beef from the carving station, and something else...

Wow, I really failed on pictures at this one. I didn't even get Cary's plate. He did eat but he had to leave well before we were done. He didn't feel well so he went to sit outside in the fresh air. But I know we all have multiple plates of crab legs, we all love 'em. I know we had more ribs...they had a ton of meat that practically fell right off the bone. I know we hit up the carving station a few more times too. Plus various desserts. I must have been more concerned with Cary's condition than I thought.

We were here about an hour. We were all full. Cary was disappointed because he wanted to eat...he said everything looked and smelled so good and what he did eat was really good. He did feel a little better getting outside though. This is one of the few buffets we like for dinner...but there is a lot to like! We will be back.

TOTAL = $170.36 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1951.88
USED 4 CREDITS ... USED 44 MEAL CREDITS

 

[dnllmz]

Great reviews. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Lisa F]

We had a lunch ADR at Coral Reef at 3:05pm. A little early but I know they never seat us early so it wasn't that early.

Skyler had a thing this trip with taking pictures with all the Christmas Trees.

We were seated in the back row. I thought the kids would flip! The always want the table along the tank. The furthest away we've ever been seated was the first row along the tables. But no one has a problem. I used to be of the mind that there were bad seats in the house but after sitting where we were this time, I have decided this is the best place to sit. Yes, along the tank you may be close up but you can only see that one window but where we were, we could see all of them.

Our waitress was Yayoi. She was a little hard to understand but very nice and efficient. She brought our bread and butter.

And took our drink orders...the usual.

For appetizers Skyler has a garden Salad with ranch on the side...which is not on the menu but they had no problem bringing her one.

Cary got a Caesar Salad...with shredded parmesan and croutons...

And I got Heirloom Tomatoes - sherry vinegar, Tuscan olive oil, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic reduction...

All of our salads were to our liking but mine was the clear winner. Oh, and we decided on ordering three meals this time because we were not all super hungry. So Skyler had the appetizer of one meal and Tyler got the entrée.

For our entrees we had...

Cary...Grilled New York Strip Steak medium well - served with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, seasonal vegetables and bercy butter

Tyler has the same but medium rare and subbed fries for his mashed potatoes and Skyler snagged the green beans!

And I ordered the Shrimp and Grits - jumbo shrimp, cheddar grits, local corn succotash, Andouille sausage, and Creole spice emulsion.

This was really good! The grits were probably better than the shrimp actually! But the whole thing together was great! I don't know how they did not get tired of steak all the time!

For desserts we had the Turtle Cheesecake - chantilly cream and hazelnut praline

The Chocolate Wave - served with Raspberry Gelato

Coconut-Mango Chiffon Cake - with raspberry sauce (to go)

The turtle cheesecake and the wave were great. All of us ate off of them! The "exotic dessert" as it says on the receipt, I am not sure we even tasted...it looked like a soft boiled egg sliced in half!

Food is always great here. The wait staff and waiting times to be seated have always been our downfalls. This time we have none! Yayoi was very nice and accommodating, we didn't wait long even arriving slightly early, our food was great and where else can you dine "under the sea"?!? We do not understand all the bad reviews. Coral Reef is always on our medium list to return to.

TOTAL = $159.13 ... TOTAL FOOD = $1302.83
USED 3 CREDITS ... USED 30 MEAL CREDITS

Thanks for posting this great review of the coral reef. It is one of my old favorites, and I want to do it for the candlelight processional package with my kiddo when we go first week of December. He is on the spectrum and I was worried about how he would react if we got a "bad" seat because he sometimes has a hard time with things that he has his heart set on not materializing. I had wanted to go there for a very early lunch, 11am or so, so that we could show up early and be virtually guaranteed a good seat if we request it but I think the CP package seatings are much later. I've been processing with him what it would be like if we don't get a seat near the tank, and your photos will be very helpful for that!

Also, the shrimp and grits is what i'd get on the menu. it doesn't look like a ginormous entree either but having made shrimp and grits myself, it doesn't take a whole lot of grits to really fill you up!

Also loved your CP review, that is also on our list, for around the time you went (it is the morning after we are doing the MVMCP so I didn't want to make a super early breakfast ADR). I really appreciate your comments on timing! What time was your CR lunch?

 

[SunnieRN]

Fantastic reviews! I'm looking forward to more!

 

[DisneyJo]

Thanks for your great reviews

 

[dizzy daisy]

Sorry to read Cary felt unwell at Cape May. At least he got something to eat. And it's a good reason to go back, lol.

Looking forward to more of your trip! Thanks for sharing

 

[DLFan123]

Everything looks so festive and beautiful. Love that sand sculpture? at Narcoossees. Someday I'd like to try that restaurant. Thanks for sharing all your great pictures and experiences!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Thanks for posting this great review of the coral reef. It is one of my old favorites, and I want to do it for the candlelight processional package with my kiddo when we go first week of December. He is on the spectrum and I was worried about how he would react if we got a "bad" seat because he sometimes has a hard time with things that he has his heart set on not materializing. I had wanted to go there for a very early lunch, 11am or so, so that we could show up early and be virtually guaranteed a good seat if we request it but I think the CP package seatings are much later. I've been processing with him what it would be like if we don't get a seat near the tank, and your photos will be very helpful for that!

Also, the shrimp and grits is what i'd get on the menu. it doesn't look like a ginormous entree either but having made shrimp and grits myself, it doesn't take a whole lot of grits to really fill you up!

Also loved your CP review, that is also on our list, for around the time you went (it is the morning after we are doing the MVMCP so I didn't want to make a super early breakfast ADR). I really appreciate your comments on timing! What time was your CR lunch?

Our ADR was for 3:05pm and we were seated relatively quickly. Usually that is one of our worst issues though...usually we have waited to be seated a while. If you can get early lunch, it would be better in my experience. People tend to linger. We have had luck with getting a tank side seat a lot. So, I'd go ahead and request it but if not, request a table not a booth. We sat in booth once on the bottom level and the back rests are so high that it does make it difficult to see around, especially for kids. The tables are along the rail at each level so nothing to see around! If you the the CP package, doesn't it include appetizer and dessert? If so, you won't go away hungry!

Everything looks so festive and beautiful. Love that sand sculpture? at Narcoossees. Someday I'd like to try that restaurant. Thanks for sharing all your great pictures and experiences!

That was chocolate!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

The morning of December 22, 2016 dawned for us around 6am. Cary hadn't slept well so he was going to stay in the room for a while and catch up with us later. I was kind of disappointed in that because I wanted him to see and do what we saw and did but it was better than him not feeling well. So Tyler, Skyler, and I were on a bus to Hollywood Studios by 6:50am.

When we got on the bus, we were the only ones on it. The bus driver asked where we were headed. He said he had to stop at the Yacht Club first but would drop us right at the Beach Club after...score!

We arrived a bit early and were told we could not even check in until 7:15am for our 7:30am ADR at Cape May again (we had a couple of these back to back meals...not planned that way necessarily, it just worked out that way schedule wise). So we lounged around the lobby of the Beach Club and took pictures.

Around 7:15am other people started showing up so we got up and checked-in. We were called right at 7:30am but we were not the first ones, even though we were first there. They had no problem with one missing person from the ADR. We were seated on the back side right where the characters come out of. Our server was Dottie and she was very friendly. She told us we had some time to fill our plates before characters came around. So off we went.

This would be mine...scrambled eggs, ham, frittata, breakfast potatoes with ketchup, sausage, bacon, French toast, apple Danish, fruit and asparagus...I love that the have asparagus for breakfast!

My oatmeal and OJ.

Tyler and SKyler's bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit, chocolate chip muffin, cinnamon roll, and Mickey Waffles.

And more cinnamon rolls!

And then Donald showed up!

Followed by Minnie...

And Goofy...

Who made me get up for a picture...I look thrilled right?

And Dottie brought Tyler a super chocolaty Chocolate Grenache cup cake for his birthday and a card!

And another button because he did not have his on yet.

We had a great breakfast here this morning. We missed Cary and he would have loved it but I guess if he was going to miss a meal, breakfast was the one to miss since most of the food is the same across the board. It was great being dropped off right there and not having to navigate multiple forms of transportation and being one of the first seated meant we have full, fresh food all the time. We were the first to see the characters as they entered the room so no waiting for someone else to finish. We were outta there at 8:09am! How's that for an efficient character meal. SO if you're looking for fast, get the first ADR of the day and ask to be seated where the characters enter the room.


TOTAL = $95.82 ... TOTAL FOOD = $2047.70
USED 3 CREDITS ... USED 47 MEAL CREDITS

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Via Napoli

Lunch at Via Napoli! Via Napoli had just opened on our last trip and we already had our ADRs planned so we did not change to eat there. So for all this time we had been hearing about the wonderful pizzas at Via Napoli. Being on the dining plan, I pushed around the idea of doing it or not, paying out of pocket or dining plan, how many credits to use...and then there's that nasty thing about them not letting dining plan patrons share. So in the end we decided to go out of pocket here. While we would have loved to try appetizers and desserts, I figured we did not really need to so we'd go OOP!

Our ADR was for 2:30pm. We arrived at around 2pm and it was a bit confusing back there. They has a check in line under umbrellas that was not labeled. There were two girls there with menus. So we go in the line/ Turns out that line was for the Candlelight Processional Package ADRs and regular ADRs could just check in at the counter inside. But no one offered up this information until we asked. SO we went inside and checked in at 2:13pm. Two families were complaining that they had the CP package and had been waiting a long time while they watched others (like us) get seated who came in after them. I don't know what their procedure is but whatever it was, it wasn't working for these families. We sat in the lobby for a few minutes.

And we were seated at 2:20pm. We were seated along that wall opposite where we came in. They also had no problem that it was only the three of us still.

We each ordered a drink and one Pepperoni Signature Pie ... Mezzo Metro (serves 3 - 5) tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni

And Cary would later be sorry he missed lunch after we demolished it and sang it's praise! I think we even fought over the crust. All the hype was not lying! Now, pizza is one of Tyler's main food groups so I figured he'd like it but we all really loved it!

We DID NOT need a doggy bag!

We were done here about 3:20. Service was kind of hard to understand and not very patient. It was very loud in there. Lots of wait staff running around. Like I said our pizza was awesome! We will be back in the future!

TOTAL = $ 55.00 ish (I can't find my receipt!)... TOTAL FOOD = $2047.70 (nothing new on DDDP cost)
USED 0 CREDITS ... USED 47 MEAL CREDITS

 

[dnllmz]

That pizza is on my list. Looks delish! We are also planning on paying out of pocket instead of using our dining credits for this meal.

 

[Mich123]

Great report! I like your cost comparison--I'm trying to figure out if DxDP would be cost effective and reading your report, it seems like it might be.