A Quick Weekend Trip

[Maleficent13]

Howdy all! The cast of characters here are:

Me (the Mom)
Grandma (the Grandma)
Princess (the )

We did not have the dining plan, and we did not make any ADRs prior to the trip with the exception of one character breakfast. Any ADRs we made were done the day of or the day before.

Day One:

8:25am ADR for Crystal Palace. It was EE day, so the park was open at 8am. Not a huge crowd, and we were seated exactly at ADR time.

This is the first time in years I've been to CP. Last time was before there were characters there. It is beautiful. So light and open, and even crowded it still felt spacious.

Food was great! I had some of almost everything. Fresh fruit, pancakes, waffles, cheesy potatoes, muffins, bacon, french toast. I really liked the french toast. It was all excellent. I did not try the eggs, so can't eval them.

Characters were very good; spent plenty of time with everyone. We didn't get to see Tigger because the was tired of sitting still, but we left full and planning to definitely return.

Lunch was at Olivia's at OKW. Let me state now, I love the new kid's menu. The choices were different at most places and my DD liked almost everything. Here she had the pizza minus the chicken. She ate it, along with the apples, and also discovered she liked carrots. Bonus.

I had the chipotle BBQ chicken sandwich, which was good but sweet. I don't care for sweet BBQ but ate it anyway. It came with fries. Grandma had the cheeseburger, which she enjoyed. It was not crowded and service was excellent.

Dinner was at Kona. No ADR; we were a walkup and waited 20 minutes. I'd not been there for dinner, just breakfast so I was excited to go. We skipped appetizers since the allows only so long for meals. I ordered the Pan Asian Noodles with Shrimp. I liked the flavor, but, well, there weren't very many noodles. I was slightly confused. Oh well, still good. I also had a Mai Tai, which was yummy.

Mom had the filet, which she really liked. She said it was very tender. I stole some potatoes and they were good. She also had wine...it was red, and that's about all I know about it. I'll have her fill me in later and I'll get back to you.

had the hotdog, which she found to her liking.

Coming soon: Beaches and Cream, Fulton's, Artist Point, GF Cafe, CHH, and more Olivia's.

 

[The Sweetness]

Sounds like you enjoyed Thanks for sharing

 

[DISNEYDUET]

#3!! I can't wait to here how you did without ADR's. You know that info will kill some of the other DISers!! It's about the same as going all the way to Orlando and not going to Disneyworld!!
Lead on oh Wicked One!!

 

[Maleficent13]

Disneyduet, I am always the rebel without ADRs! I never make them in advance and I've never needed too. As a matter of fact, I only ate at one counter service place all weekend, and that was by choice.

Day 2:

Breakfast at Olivia's, no ADR, arrived at 9am and seated immediately. I had the Pancakes and Eggs, Grandma had Olivia's breakfast (eggs over easy, hashbrowns, toast) and had sand dollar pancakes. Excellent, all.

Lunch, Beaches and Cream. We walked over from Epcot through the International Gateway and arrived 12:30pm, waited 25 min for table. It would have been less, but we had to wait for a table so we could have a high chair. We could have had a booth in less time.

I had the 1/4 pound hotdog with fries, Mom had a hamburger with fries, and had the grilled cheese with fruit. They no longer have lime rickeys, so that was a major bummer! I settled for a cherry Coke. Food was all yummy, and we all cleared our plates. We were too full for ice cream!! DD got a cookie with her meal though, which we all shared and it was good for a pre-packaged cookie.

Dinner today was pizza in the room (we had a 1 bedroom DVC). DD was tired and we all needed the break. It was Digiorno, pepperoni, and was your typical greasy mess.

 

[Maleficent13]

Day 3:

Breakfast: Grandma made a beignet run over to POFQ and brought them back to the room. They were very fluffy and very messy. Yum.

Lunch was at Fulton's at DTD. No ADR, walk in at noon, no wait. We sat upstairs next to the window. Our server here was excellent, and I forgot my receipt to put his name here. He really was top-notch and very attentive without being overbearing.

DD had already eaten at McD's, so she was occupied with her various toys. Grandma and I decided to make a meal of appetizers. I started with the lobster bisque, which was amazing. It was also very rich, and I could only finish half of it. Mom started with a shrimp cocktail; very large shrimp with a good flavor. After that I had the seared tuna, which was very good. Between the soup and tuna, I was plenty full. Mom got the steamed mussels and clams, but only clams. She said they were delicious and she couldn't finish them all.

had been asking for cake, so we ordered a piece for her and then helped her eat it. It had a raspberry layer in it which was nice. This was probably the best meal of the trip.

Dinner: Artist Point. About 4pm-ish we started thinking about dinner and Mom wanted to go to AP to see if they had Copper River Salmon. So we called Disney Dining from the room to see if we could get in between 6-7pm. We got an ADR for 6:05pm no problem.

Arrived at WL about 5:30 and checked in, and they said we wouldn't be seated until at least 6pm, which we were fine with. Wandered the grounds and sat in the lobby to wait. At exactly 6:05pm we were buzzed and seated.

Mom had another one of those red wines about which I know nothing. She liked it. I had a "Northwestern Exposure" which was a bunch of stuff which when all added together = yummy. had milk.

Much to Mom's joy, they did have the CR Salmon, which she ordered, along with the smoky mushroom soup. I got the seared scallops and a mixed greens salad. DD had a hamburger.

Mom declared her salmon fabulous, and my scallops were amazing. DD was so underwhelmed with her burger she fell asleep. We ordered two berry cobblers to go and ate them in the room after we put DD down. OMG good. Although I cannot figure out why the server thought it was a good idea to add ice cream to a "to go" order. I know it comes with ice cream, but I guess I just thought it was weird. Luckily, the ice cream was just as good melted!

I have never been an AP fan, but after this trip I will be back!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[NMAmy]

Well, look at you sauntering into restaurants like you own the place, Mal! Who needs stinkin' ADR's anyway? I'm too chicken to go without them.

Okay, what the heck is a lime rickey? Not that I could apparently try it anymore but inquiring minds and all that.

Can I just say you are the best mom EVER? Hepzibah got McDonald's AND raspberry cake? You rock! Hey, I once let my kid have cotton candy at 10:30 in the morning at MGM so there is no way I'm judging you, pal. We were on VACATION which means we eat whatever we want.

 

[Maleficent13]

Well, look at you sauntering into restaurants like you own the place, Mal! Who needs stinkin' ADR's anyway? I'm too chicken to go without them.

Okay, what the heck is a lime rickey? Not that I could apparently try it anymore but inquiring minds and all that.

Can I just say you are the best mom EVER? Hepzibah got McDonald's AND raspberry cake? You rock! Hey, I once let my kid have cotton candy at 10:30 in the morning at MGM so there is no way I'm judging you, pal. We were on VACATION which means we eat whatever we want.

I am the anti-ADR queen! (We need a queen smilie, but these guys will have to do.) Really, it's just about the timing pretty much. And we're not going at spring break. I think even I'd break down and make ADRs if we were going at a busy time.

A lime rickey is lime seltzer with cherry syrup. Sounds gross but it's soooo yummy. I was majorly bummed they took it off the menu.

It was CHOCOLATE raspberry cake! Actually, she ate really healthy this trip. All the kids meals come with fruit and vegetables, and she never met one of those she didn't like. (Yes, I know I'm lucky!) I really liked the new kids meals, although I know that's sacriledge. But I'm with you, it's VACATION! We had ice cream for lunch our last day too.

 

[ufgator]

Thanks for your reviews. I love the CR salmon and berry cobbler at AP.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

When were you here? And why didn't I know? Darn, I could have stalked you in person.

How do you do it without ADRs? Lately we keep getting turned away. Grrrr. Lucky duck.

 

[wilma-bride]

Loved your reviews (and your ADR rebellion) - if only I were brave enough Did you stay at OKW? I like the idea of popping over to POFQ for beignets - something which is definitely on my 'must try at WDW this year' list

 

[Maleficent13]

When were you here? And why didn't I know? Darn, I could have stalked you in person.

How do you do it without ADRs? Lately we keep getting turned away. Grrrr. Lucky duck.

I was there Memorial Day weekend. I'm sorry I didn't PM you; we could have met up at Jellyrolls! Next time, definitely!

I have ADR magic.