A Texas-sized dining experience. 4 Adults “Stretchy Pants Diet”

[pugcrazy]

As everyone knows, EVERYTHING is bigger in Texas. So here is my Texas-sized dining report.

We planned an adults only trip to WDW for 9/22/12 through 9/28/12. Two Texas couples will spend 6 nights and 7 Days tasting our way through WDW on the “Stretchy Pants Diet” also known as the Deluxe Dining plan. I spent 9 months planning what I hope to be a truly Magical getaway. And what is more magical that Disney Dining? Deluxe Dining of course!!! So when “free dining” was offered we jumped at the change to upgrade to Deluxe Dining! None of us have ever been on the Deluxe Dining plan so this is going to be FUN!!

Our cast of characters include:

Me: A foodie and Disney obsessed. I love to try new foods, especially sweets. I have reviewed every menu and dining report for the last two years. I plan to try as many cupcakes and crème brulees as possible.

Jeff: Enjoys meat and potatoes. He loves all things Disney. He does not care for sweets. Maybe I can get him to share some of his snack credits!?!? (NO. Those credits are MINE! –jeff)

Dana: Also a foodie who loves Disney. We will be sharing lots of desserts and cupcakes so we can get to taste a wider variety. She is really looking forward to our Surf & Turf night.

Billy: No nonsense no frill guy where food is concerned. (Billy does not like oriental food, so I had to skip Yak & Yeti this trip.) I’m not sure he has even looked at the menus of the restaurants we will be frequenting.
With the Deluxe Dining plan we each get 18 dining credits and 12 snack credits.

Up next: So where shall we eat?

 

[pugcrazy]

So after having spent almost two years looking over menus, where will we be eating???

Day 1: Saturday 9/22/12
Breakfast- In Houston
Lunch- DTD Earl of Sandwich 1 credit
Dinner- HS 50's Prime Time Cafe 1 credit
Day 2: Sunday 9/23/12
Brunch- DTD House Of Blues Gospel Brunch Out of pocket
Snack credits- Snack credits
Dinner- HS Sci Fi Dine-In 1 credit

Day 3: Monday 9/24/12
Breakfast- Crystal Palace Breakfast with Pooh and Friends 1 credit
Lunch- Liberty Tree Tavern 1 credit
Dinner- Tonys Town Square 1 credit

Day 4: Tuesday 9/25/12
Breakfast- Kouzzina by Cat Cora 1 credit
Lunch- Via Napoli 1 credit
Dinner- Le Cellier 2 credits

Day 5: Wednesday 9/26/12
Breakfast- Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House 1 credit
Lunch- Flame Tree BBQ (Not a sit down, but one of our favorites) 1 credit
Dinner- Narcoossees 2 Credit

Day 6: Thursday 9/27/12
Breakfast- Snack credits at Sunshine Seasons
Lunch- Les Chefs de France 1 credit
Dinner- La Hacienda de San Angel 1 credit

Day 7:Friday 9/28/12
Breakfast- Cinderellas Royal Table 2 credits
Lunch- snack credits or OOP


The planning phase has ended. I have 13 days before we leave for Houston. I need to switch to frantic packing mode.

 

[Dalamara]

Mmmm sounds yummy! Can't wait to read your report after your wonderful trip!

 

[ShortStuff]

Sounds awesome! I will be interested to see the difference between your lunch and dinner meals at Le Cellier!

 

[deenbrad]

I'm in!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in!

 

[jedijill]

Sounds yummy!

Jill in CO

 

[starousse]

Joining too!

 

[pugcrazy]

So I set up a photobucket account today and uploaded pictures of our cast. The photo of me and DH is blurry, so I guess I'll have to take another later and replace it. I just wanted to get a photo so we snapped it with the iPhone. We will have to pull out the Cannon Rebel. I promise to have better shots of the important stuff (THE FOOD).

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi there! I want to hear all about it! I hope you have a great trip!

 

[vettegirl]

This Texas girl is joining in for the fun! Have a great trip and say hello if you see me at the world

 

[Alice BlueBonnet]

I'm in! And we are in Disney at the same time, so if an overly enthusiastic blonde girl bounces up to you in Epcot to say hi, that's me

 

[Ro Z]

Looks good! Can't wait to hear your reviews!

 

[TigerKat]

Signing on!

 

[pugcrazy]

We have returned from 7 fabulous food filled days at Disney. I will begin trying to review our meals.

We flew out of Houston at 8:45am and arrived in Orlando at 11am. We checked into our rooms at Pop Century and headed for Downtown Disney.

This was the only meal that I had not planned, as I did not want to miss a reservation if our plane was delayed.

We were all hungry and decided that Earl of Sandwich would be a great start to our trip.

We ordered 2 Cannonballs, 1 Original and 1 Chicken Chipotle sandwich (this was the special of the day).

Jeff chose the Cannonball. This is his choice every time we eat here.

Dana & I chose to share a Cannonball & a Chicken Chipotle sandwich so we could taste both.

The Cannonball

This is the best meatball sub I've ever eaten. The meatballs are tender and the sauce is good.

The Chicken Chipotle Avocado Sandwich

This sandwich was good, but not as good as the Cannonball. The chicken was moist but I would have liked it to be spicier. The avocado was good. The lettuce was a waste as the warm sandwich had made it limp and soggy.

The Original

Billy ordered the original. He said that it was very good. He liked the horseradish on the sandwich.

On the dining plan you can order one entree, one drink and either a side or a dessert.

For sides we ordered potato salad, chocolate chip cookie, macaroni salad, and a berry parfait. All of the sides were good, but nothing remarkable.

We all enjoyed our first meal and we would all return here.

Next review will be 50's Prime Time. Come back and learn how I almost messed up our trip.

 

[vettegirl]

Great start. Reading your EoS review is making me want to have one for lunch tomorrow, as I am spoiled to have one by my office here in San Antonio.

 

[ksromack]

I've managed to book ourselves completely out of Earl of Sandwich. Well, actually we could go there but then we'd have to give up WPExpress....I've heard so many good things about both of those places that now I'm torn! Anyway, I've booked many of the places you did so I'm subbing for your report! I just decided this week to upgrade to the DxDDP (like you we received DDP free for our stay).

 

[rachel09985]

I am in!! This sounds great!!! Great pics!!!

 

[pugcrazy]

With full tummies, we shopped at Downtown Disney until 4:30pm.

We then took a bus to The Swan and a boat to Hollywood Studios.

I checked our reservation information on my phone and found that our dinner reservation for 50's Prime Time Cafe was for 6:40pm.

We arrived at 6:30pm, and this is where things went wrong. It seems that when my phone changed time zones, it also changed all the ADR times in my calendar. So we were actually an hour late for our reservation. And Fantasmic was scheduled for 8pm not 9pm like my phone showed.

Luckily for me, the very nice lady at check in stated that they would be able to seat us anyway. We had to wait about 25 minutes and then we were seated.

Our waitress Kaydee was the best of our entire trip. Cousin Kaydee played her part perfectly. She was also VERY pregnant. She stated that she was due in two weeks. She teased Billy throughout the entire meal. Our table and the table beside us teased back and she really made the meal special.

For drinks Billy had sweet tea, Dana had a coke float (lots of ice cream), Jeff had a coke and I had unsweet tea and lots of Splenda. Jeff drank lots of coke and was presented a pitcher of coke with a straw.

For appetizers Jeff and Billy both ordered the Onion Rings.

Beer Battered Onion Rings - Served with horseradish sauce. - $7.99
These had a crisp batter. They were greasy but good. Billy liked the horseradish sauce, but Jeff and I preferred ketchup with our onion rings.

Dana ordered the Blue Crab Salad.

Uncle Gary's Blue Crab Salad- Avocado filled with lump blue crab, roasted corn and red bell pepper topped with crunchy crumb, spicy mayonnaise and tomato crackers - $8.99
This was tasty. We liked the avocado with the crab meat. It was lightly spicy.

I ordered the Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese served warm with raspberry sauce and toasted french bread. $7.99

It was good, but not as good as I had imagined it would be.

All the appetizers were good, but the only thing I would definitely order next time was the onion rings.

For our entrees we ordered:


Billy ordered the meatloaf.

Dad's Traditional Meatloaf - a blend of beef and pork topped with tomato glaze, mashed potatoes, and green beans $14.99
None of us really cared for the meatloaf. It wasn't bad, but it was our least favorite of the dishes.


Jeff ordered the sampler plate with only fries as his vegetable. He doesn't like green things.

Dana & I ordered the sample plate with no greens and extra mashed potatoes.

A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes - Crispy-fried Chicken, Fork Tender Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings $19.99

The fried chicken was very good. The Pot Roast was my favorite thing of the meal. (I will order the Pot Roast when next I return to 50's Prime Time.)
The green beans were cooked so that they still had a bit of crunch to them (not the way we cook them in the South, but I liked them). They had a slightly odd taste that I could not determine what it was. I was glad that I got the sampler to try all three dishes.

By the time we got to dessert we were all stuffed, but we still wanted something sweet.
Jeff ordered a chocolate milkshake, Billy ordered a chocolate malt, Dana ordered apple crisp and I ordered a chocolate and caramel sundae. All the desserts were good.

We missed Fantasmic on our first night, but we all really enjoyed this meal. 50's Prime Time remains a favorite.

Next up, The House Of Blues Gospel Brunch.

 

[pugcrazy]

vettegirl now I'm jealous. I wish we had an EoS nearby.