Around the World in 10 days - A Pirate, Princess, & Chauffeur's DxDP Adventure

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Greetings WDW Dining Connoisseurs and Novices Alike!

Since I started a PTR, I thought it was only logical for me to open a PTR for your reading pleasure. You can check out our trip planning adventure here:

A Pirate, Princess, and Chauffeur PTR

Our World Travelers:

The Pirate - aka Ryan - my sweet little boy! Well, not little since he is almost as tall as me. He turns 11 on August 31st, so this trip will be to celebrate his birthday. Ry is definitely a food lover. He enjoys trying new foods, but really loves sushi and seafood. One kid food oddity that he loves is beets - straight out of the can! He has informed me that we absolutely have to stop at Sunshine Seasons for some beets.

The Princess - aka Taylor - my sassy little girl! She has her brother wrapped around her finger. She is 6 and celebrated her birthday at the World last year. She is picky, but is getting better. Case in point, we had some homemade stirfry last night and I managed to get her to try water chestnuts and pea pods. She liked both! Baby steps, but I will take it as a victory. My plan is to get her to try new foods while we are are the World.

The Chauffeur - aka Amiee, EE, & Mom - well, that's me! EE is a nickname that has stuck with me thanks to some folks that I work with. Way too many Amy's in my department. I'm a single mom and even though I get lonely sometimes, I'm doing alright. My kids are active in sports, so I frequently find myself driving them all over town. I love food, so I jog. I finished my first half marathon at Disney last March and plan to run in the Princess again next year.

Why DxDP? I just made sense for us. I had plans for arrival appetizers at Jiko and experience the HDDR one night. Both were going to be out of pocket expenses. I grew a wild hair one day and decided to look for breakfast at CRT. All the while, I expected to feel rejection. How wrong I was! With the addition of Cindy's Place, it made financial sense to upgrade since we had free dining anyway. We will be staying at CBR from 9/2-9/12.

Enough small talk! You want to know about our ADR's!

Our Worldly Dining Destinations:

9/2 - late ADR at Jiko
9/3 - breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table and dinner at Chef Mickey's
9/4 - lunch at LeCellier and dinner at California Grill
9/5 - lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe and dinner at Akershus
9/6 - lunch at Biergarten and dinner at Artist Point
9/7 - breakfast at The Wave, lunch at Chefs de France, and dinner is HDDR (HDDR might change to Narcoossee's) CHANGE Narcoossee's, cancel HDDR
9/8 - breakfast at Crystal Palace, lunch at Liberty Tree, and dinner at Boma CHANGE Tusker House post EMH dinner, cancel Boma;
9/9 - lunch at Whispering Canyon and dinner at O'hana CHANGE Garden Grill dinner, cancel Boma
9/10 - lunch at Teppan Edo and dinner at Flying Fish CHANGE Tusker House Breakfast
9/11 - lunch at Brown Derby and dinner at Raglan Road CHANGE Boma Breakfast; Via Napoli dinner, cancel Raglan Road
9/12 - breakfast at The Wave before we leave

Since I have a few weeks before we leave, I expect to make a change here and there. On top of that, I still have a lingering credit to use during our journey around the World.

I have dined at Jiko, Boma, and the Brown Derby, so most of our restaurants are new. Jiko is a first night must do for me. I had the best time there in March dining alone. The Taste of Africa is a must for me. Melt in your mouth yummy! Boma was ok, but I am giving it another try. As far as the Brown Derby goes, I am excited to try something other than a Cobb Salad!

That's all I have for tonight! Does anybody have suggestions on what I should try?

 

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Arrival Night Plans:

I can't stand late arrivals, but it's better than no arrival at all. Right? We land at Sanford around 7:30 and have a Jiko ADR at 9:30.

When I last visited Jiko, I wanted a fantastic and yummy meal after a very long drive. I arrived with plenty of time to spare before my ADR and asked if I could be seated at the Cooking Place. I went to the bar to have a yummy adult beverage and a great conversation with the bartender. After only a few minutes, I was taken to my seat right in front of one of the brick ovens. Perfect since it was early March and very chilly outside. Thanks to all of the reviews on the DIS, I knew which appetizer wanted - Taste of Africa. I had no clue about the entree. My server recommended the Maize Crusted Halibut and I trusted her opinion, lol. Even though I ordered both at the same time, she timed the app and entree arrivals perfectly. Both were wonderful!

I will let you in on a little Taste of Africa secret - try a little of each dip together on the bread. Mouthwatering!

Some people like to dine alone and some don't. I absolutely enjoyed myself that evening. Lots of conversations with various CM's. It was wonderful. Sitting at the Cooking Place was so fun! I loved watching the app's being made. I might have dined by myself, but I never felt alone for a moment. Lots of casual conversation. If you happen to visit WDW solo, I wouldn't hesitate to dine at Jiko. Wonderful CM's and great food. I'm kicking myself for not taking pics, but I will in September!

 

[arilvdc]

We do have many of the same ADR's. I hope they are all awesome!

 

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My wild hair to search for an opening at Cindy's Table came out of pure boredom one day. It would have been nice to get, but it was ok if we didn't find an opening. Once I booked it, the tables were turned. I started crunching numbers to determine if upgrading to DxDP would be worth our while. In the grand scheme of things, it just made sense. So off I went in search of additional restaurant options to send to my TA.

Our ADR is for 9:20am, so it made touring strategy a bit difficult. I have since added a date at BBB for my girl at 8am the same day. The new plan is to send my son off for our first set of FP's and then meet back for a very quick ride before dining with Cindy.

I have heard mixed reviews about CRT, but it seems like breakfast is ok. For us, it's more about the great photo ops and characters.

 

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We do have many of the same ADR's. I hope they are all awesome!

Thanks! I hope you have a great time. I'm getting very excited about our trip.

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

Reading you list of ADR's is making me hungry.
Have a Great Time

 

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Thanks Jo! 3 weeks from today!

 

[cantwaitvaca09]

You will have to do a live TR so I can live threw you

 

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Of course I will! Won't be able to share everything live, but I will pop in. After all, have Droid will post. On top of this, I have a solar charger on order ( the goddess thread girls will DIE when they hear this! ). I'm a geek, lol.

 

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I recently found my mojo again, so I am back to get this review on the boards with a quickness. I have quite a few pictures and I also forgot to take quite a few too. Live and learn, right?

Ok, so our first dining adventure was Jiko. It is a tradition for me and now is for the Pirate and Princess. Our Dreams TA set up an ADR for 9pm for us and it was perfect. It gave us enough time to check in at CBR, unpack, and head to AKL.

I absolutely adore Jiko and will continue to spend our first dinner there every trip. The last time I dined there was when I arrived for the Princess Half in March. I sat at the Cooking Place. It was a very chilly night and the ovens warmed me up nicely. This time, we had a window seat. Even though it was dark, we could still see alot of the landscaping. Our server was from Bejing, but I can't remember his name. He engaged the Pirate and Princess often - huge help to me because the kids were so excited that I wasn't able to look at the wine list.

Since we were dining deluxe style, I filled the kids in on the scoop. The Prince loves to try new things, but the Princess doesn't. I knew exactly what I wanted and nobody was going to change my mind. I was disappointed when I heard a few weeks before our trip that I couldn't get the Creme Brulee anymore, but we will talk about that again in a moment.

Ryan had the Bobotie Roll for an app with Seared Irish Salmon for his entree. I really wasn't expecting him to eat much, but he loved all of it. He didn't want dessert and he knew that some restaurants would sub a cheese tray in place of dessert. Instead of asking me to ask for him, he took the initiative and asked himself. I have the list of cheeses somewhere in my trip goodies, but he enjoyed most of them. One of the goat's milk cheeses was a little too strong for his taste, but I loved it.

My dining adventure was already determined the moment I booked the ADR, so all I needed to decide on was dessert. I had my usual - Taste of Africa and Maize Crusted Halibut. The server I had the last time at Jiko introduced to sampling the Taste a bit differently. She told me to try each of the dips together. The flavor was amazing and I remember being able to imagine the taste several times before the trip. Taylor wouldn't try it, but Ryan liked it (it has some heat). The halibut was wonderful as usual. The veggies of the moment were summer squashes, green beans, corn, and roasted tomatoes. It was garnished with some edible flowers (lavenders, greens, and yellows). Yum! Dessert was a tough decision for me. They all sounded so yummy, but one stuck out as I saw it being delivered to tables around us - The Three Sisters. All 3 tastes were yummy, but I have to say the Chocolate Pistachio Creme was my favorite.

Taylor is my meat and potatoes girl, so she ordered carrots and apples as an app (she won't touch celery) with steak and potatoes. She was happy with them and she ate almost everything. My girl usually eats 3 or 4 bites and then says she is full. I could hear her stomach growling, so I was very happy. Being herself, she only wanted vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Cost excluding alcohol and tip: $140

Back for more tomorrow as we visit Cindy's and Mickey's.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

joining in...

 

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joining in...

Welcome! I didn't do so great with pics, but that just means I need a do over. Right?

 

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Next up is breakfast with Cindy and I once again forgot pics of the food.

I get better, I promise!


Cinderella's Royal Table - Breakfast 9/3
So, I managed to get my Princess an appointment at BBB and find breakfast with Cindy on the same day. BBB is awesome as usual AND we had the same Fairy Godmother as we had on her birthday in 2009. She's awesome!

On to the food! I have to admit this is a one time location for us and simply because of the cost. I would take breakfast at Crystal Palace or Akershus over CRT any day. That being said, we just had to try it once. Our ADR was for 9 and we arrived a few minutes late because we made it to BBB late. Oops! The FGM's let the hostess know and all was fine with our ADR.

Our server was fine, prompt with coffee and refills on juice. If I was thinking, I would have ordered a mix of both the traditional breakfast and the yogurt and granola, but I wasn't thinking. I ordered the traditional for all of us. It was standard breakfast fare, but nothing to write home about. The pastries reminded me of store brand, but the Danish was really good. Maybe because I like Danish? Taylor was very excited because she was in the castle, but she even commented that she liked Epcot better. Ryan was less than happy, but he went along with it for his sister, lol. The princesses tried to engage him, but he politely declined pictures. The princesses we saw were Cinderella, Belle, Ariel, Aurora, and Snow White. They didn't spend nearly the amount of time at our table as other character meals, but again, it's a one time deal for us.

Cost: $119

 

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Chef Mickey's Dinner - 9/3

Yes! I have pictures for Chef Mickey's. By the time we made it to dinner, I was exhausted (cranky) and the kids were hungry. We were seated promptly after our mandatory picture. We were seated in the less crowded area near the kitchen. This was a great location because I could hear a distinct difference in the background noise. Don't get me wrong, it's a Disney restaurant and it will be loud. But the it seemed like some of the excess was absorbed better in our area.

Our server took our drink orders and I let him know that I also needed an adult beverage - strong and sweet. By the time I got the Princess's plate, he completed his mission of mercy. He brought me this:

For the life of me, I can't remember what it's called (a big gulp is missing). I know it is in the standard drink book though. It was very strong and sweet. I'm not a big drinker, but I could guzzle these all day!

I went in to our dining experience expecting mediocre food and service, but the service was great and the food was better than ok (there were a few misses). I really expected a few more veggie selections, but I made due. Ryan was thrilled because salmon was on the menu. Taylor stuck with cheese pizza and some raw veggies.

Being from Southern Indiana, we live in melon country. Needless to say, I was expecting low flavor in the honeydew and cantaloupe. They weren't the same quality as my Posey County melons, but they were pretty good. Moving clockwise, a zucchini salad. It was basically blanched zucchini marinated in an Italian dressing. I wasn't sure that I would like the zucchini prepared that way, but I was pleasantly surprised. The bow tie pasta salad was standard. It was ok – had a bacon ranch flavor to it, but was swimming in dressing. The bean salad was amazing! It had corn, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, and 2 beans, with a vinaigrette dressing. It had quite a bit of flavor and the veggies were crunchy! This and the zucchini dish were my favorite dishes from the cold dishes.

My hot food plate:

Now this is where some disappointment comes in. Clockwise from the top again. Standard green beans – they were ok. Stir fry veggies – I could have made a meal off of these and the bean salad. Next is a chicken pot pie type dish. I took a bite and passed on the rest. The salmon was good, but I haven't met a salmon I didn't like. Finally, the potato dish wasn't that great. It was another take a bite and pass.

All in all, our experience at Chef Mickey's was ok. Service was great, but I don't understand why it is so hard to get an ADR. The food isn't all that great (ok, but not knock my socks off). I wouldn't lose sleep if I didn't get an ADR here again. This is another, experience once and then move on to bigger and better.

Cost excluding alcohol and tip: $85

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Thanks for the updates, we ate at CRT breakfast 2 years ago and my son asked if we can go again to eat in the castle so I booked dinner...then they changed the menu. I read my son the menu and said I guess we can try breakfast b/c I don't really like the dinner choices . I told him we don't have one free morning b/c I booked all the places he wanted. As a mom do I keep the dinner for just to eat in the castle and eat somewhere else Believe it or not I was going to do it but my husband said either get breakfast or not go at all. My son loves to go to Chef Mickey (we ate there a few dinners too...food was bad but son wants to eat there again b/c of characters). I booked breakfast b/c they can't really ruin breakfast food...right
Can't wait to read more.

 

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Thanks for the updates, we ate at CRT breakfast 2 years ago and my son asked if we can go again to eat in the castle so I booked dinner...then they changed the menu. I read my son the menu and said I guess we can try breakfast b/c I don't really like the dinner choices . I told him we don't have one free morning b/c I booked all the places he wanted. As a mom do I keep the dinner for just to eat in the castle and eat somewhere else Believe it or not I was going to do it but my husband said either get breakfast or not go at all. My son loves to go to Chef Mickey (we ate there a few dinners too...food was bad but son wants to eat there again b/c of characters). I booked breakfast b/c they can't really ruin breakfast food...right
Can't wait to read more.

I would go somewhere else (screams Akershus for dinner!). I will tell you alot more about Norway as soon as I get through 9/4's events.

 

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So our little adventure is up to Saturday, 9/4. We hit Epcot nice and early and had a ball. Hit Soarin' and Test Track, et al (2x for Soarin' and multiple times for TT). But wait! This isn't our trip report, so let's move on to what matters - FOOD!!! Once again, I was too excited to remember pictures. Just another reason for a do over trip.

When I first began planning this trip, I knew I wanted to try to get a LeCellier ADR. Mainly to see if it lived up to the hype. We scored a 12pm ADR and we were on our way. We were famished by the time 11 rolled around, so we headed over to Canada and checked in early. Several walk ups were being turned away, but we ended up being seated after 5 minutes.

Our server was wonderful! Did I mention that I love accents? Well, I listen to lots of accents on a daily basis and find myself mesmerized by them, lol. She was from British Columbia and had a wonderful Pacific NW accent.

To start out, I had the Mango Smoothie and Ryan had the Sour Apple Freeze. Taylor stuck with her usual - Sprite.

Ry and I decided to do some more app sharing and it worked out beautifully. We shared the soup and the spicy chicken and chipotle sausage (actually, it was more me getting 2 spoonfuls of soup and Ry getting 1 bite of my sausage and polenta). He loved the soup, but he loves any soup that is put in front of him. So much that I even make soup once a week in the winter. It had a great beer and cheese flavor. I have never had any cheese soup compare. Yum! Don't throw anything at me, but the sausage is even better (my opinion!). The polenta and onion jam was the perfect contrast to the spice in the sausage. It was so good, that I would have ordered it as an entree.

We didn't stop there, Ry ordered (anyone, anyone, Buehler?) - that's right, Salmon Two Ways and I ordered the Filet (as if I could have been stopped). Taylor ordered the cheese soup, steak and plain vanilla ice cream. She expands her horizons later in the week (made me proud!).

I can't remember what side item came with the salmon, but I remember he enjoyed it. I did get to sample the salmon and it was really good. The barbeque flavored one was the best. I had only had filet a few times and had forgotten about the tenderness and flavor. This filet was fabulous. I wasn't really interested in the risotto because I filled up on steak. I only had a few bites to see how it was.

For dessert, Ryan went for the sorbet and I had to have the Creme Brulee. I don't remember about the sorbet, but the Brulee is mouthwatering. It's well worth the cost of admission.

Will I go back? Most likely. I know there has been a ton of debate about the change to Signature for the evening, but I am taking a wait and see approach. I will attempt to get a lunch ADR in the future. Now, as far as Signature dining goes, I would need to see some menu changes. Who knows what the future will bring. Right?

Cost excluding tip: $103

Next up! Cali Grill with Pics!