*COMPLETE!* Dining Report 12/3-12/10 DxDP 70 SNACKS!

[budafam]

Welcome to my dining report! 4 days before Christmas and I'm about to begin a dining report... I've got my priorities straight! lol...

We spent 7 glorious nights in WDW from 12/3-12/10. We also had the coveted deluxe dining plan. This is the first and probably ONLY time I will ever pay out of pocket for this plan.

A little background on this trip...

My first trip was in May 2011. Since then I've been back in
October 2011 with my son for a surprise Halloween trip,
May 2012 with my whole family & my mother in law for her first trip,
October 2012 with my daughter for a surprise Halloween trip,
and now this one.

My mom passed away unexpectedly in November 2009. We had our first trip booked and decided to postpone it at the time. My mom LOVED all happy things... fireworks, music, food, people. She's never been to Disney but after we went for our first trip I realized that place just SCREAMED her name. It's devastating that I can't show it all to her.

In July 2012 I became a Disney Travel Agent. I absolutely LOVE my job. I have become such a Disney nut in such a short amount of time. I wanted so badly to show my dad everything but he kept denying that he would ever take a trip there.

Well, one day we had him talked into it. My sister (age 53) was with us at the time and she said that she would love to come along. Before my dad could say no, I booked it. 7 nights at Kidani Village - Animal Kingdom Lodge in a one bedroom savanna view villa. I added on the deluxe dining plan and we were set.

Dad tried backing out a few days later but it was too late... lol. My dad has been VERY hard to get out of the house since mom passed away. He is 76 years old and was still working part time driving truck. He's in great shape and I knew he could handle all of the walking.

November 22, 2013 my dad fully retired. Now that he retired, he told his work that he was going to the happiest place on Earth!!!

My sister is 53 years old. She's actually a half sister. I'm 30. We've never lived together in the same house so we're not super close but as we've grown older, we've been doing a lot more together and I've really enjoyed it. I was glad she would get this time with her niece & nephew as well.

Our husbands were staying home. The kids were coming with (of course).
DS is 7. This would be his 4th trip to the World.
DD is 5. This would also be her 4th trip to the World.

I've done the deluxe dining plan twice before (with each of the kids on their solo trips) so I knew what we were in for.

We did a lot of 3 meals a day and on the last day, we did FOUR meals. Yes, you read that correctly. Hope you're ready for some pictures!!! Here's our list of ADR's... I will stick in snack pictures wherever I find them...

12/3
Sci-Fi Dine In Theater Dinner

12/4
Hollywood & Vine Breakfast
50's Prime Time Lunch
Cape May Clam Bake Dinner

12/5
Biergarten Lunch
California Grill Dinner

12/6
Tusker House Breakfast
Yak & Yeti Lunch
Boma Dinner

12/7
1900 Park Fare Breakfast
T-Rex Lunch
Fulton's Crab House Dinner

12/8
Chef Mickey's Breakfast
'Ohana Dinner

12/9
Cinderella's Royal Table Breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern Lunch
Be Our Guest Dinner
Wishes Dessert Party

 

[chinarider]

Looking forward to your reviews. thanks

 

[lizzytizzy]

Can't wait to see pictures!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great intro and I know how addictive Disney becomes :

Like to think the reason you've got to go so frequently is heavenly pixie dust from your Mum and I guess she's been there along with you.

Looking forward to your reviews. We only did dxdp once and it was more cost effective than paying oop for the sig meals and shows but would only do it under those conditions and most of the snacks were used on stuff to bring back for the children I work with. Now I'm intrigued by your four meal day - bring it on........................

 

[JMBB216]

Looking forward to your review.

 

[budafam]

This was our very first ADR. I chose it because my dad grew up in the 50's. He has always had an antique car that we went to car shows with while I was growing up. I knew this would be a good, quiet place to start out with and not too much food to scare them off... lol.


Our plane landed at 1:55pm. We checked into Kidani and had to change our room... that wasted some time but eventually we left for HS. We headed straight to Fantasmic which was at 6:30. Our ADR for Sci-Fi was at 7:45. We sat around a bit after Fantasmic and then we made our way out. I think we checked in at Sci-Fi around 7pm. We waited about 3 minutes before our buzzer went off and we were seated. I made sure to request a car, not a table.









We were seated in a half yellow/half black car (weird).





I have been to Sci-Fi before (once). It was on our very first trip. I enjoyed it but my husband (the picky eater) did not. They were unable to accommodate his request for a simple grilled cheese. He ended up with the child's pizza and it tasted like cardboard. I know this isn't top of the line Disney food but I'm not really hard to please

We had a great waitress. She took pictures of us and walked around with my camera for a bit taking other pictures. Then she said "thanks for the nice camera".. lol. We ordered and the wait was not very long for our food. Being on the deluxe dining plan, we were able to get a shake for our drinks.

Appetizers..
I ordered the Fried Dill Pickles - served with spicy Ranch Dipping Sauce $8.49



These were great. There were different sizes and shapes of pickles... they had spears and the cut circles. The dipping sauce was so yummy! It took away the bite from the pickle. The kids loved them. We finished them up with no problem.

Both my sister & dad ordered the Spicy Buffalo Popcorn Chicken - with Blue Cheese Dressing and Celery Sticks $8.99



They both loved these and finished them up with no problem. They said that they weren't too spicy but the bbq sauce was very yummy. The waitress brought over some wet napkins afterwards to clean up.

My son ordered carrots & celery... the appetizer choices for kids are lacking in my opinion. Luckily my son is used to the choices and actually likes carrots so it wasn't too big of an issue with him.



My daughter on the other hand is not easy to order for at all... she hates all types of salads/veggies. I talked her into a garden salad and I don't think she took one bite. I tried it and thought it was pretty good for a child's appetizer. Everything was chopped up real small.



Entrees..
I've been scoping the menu's for awhile (who's kidding, since we booked I've been planning what I wanted..) I ordered the The Famous All American Picnic Burger - Flame-broiled Angus Burger Patty topped with Grilled Hot Dog, Sauerkraut, and Sauteed Onions, crowned with a Pickle Spear served with a choice of Cucumber Salad or French Fries $15.99. This was great. It was a good burger and the hot dog was just sort of ordinary but it did the job and filled me up. I did not finish it... maybe finished about 3/4's of it. I opted for the cucumber salad instead of the fries.. it's not the tastiest cucumber salad I've ever had but it's lighter than the fries and I was glad I ordered this even if it was just to try it.



Both my sister & dad ordered the Flame-broiled New York Strip Steak - with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables topped with Blue Cheese Butter and crispy Onion Rings $29.99. They said it was good but not the best steak they've ever had which is what I was expecting to hear. They still ate the majority of it.



The kids both ordered the popcorn chicken with fries. They loved it and both ate a good majority of it.



Dessert..
The kids both got the ice cream sundaes with no chocolate. (My son HATES everything chocolate). They loved them of course.



My sister ordered the Apple Crumble $7.99. It came out super hot with little décor balls on top of it. Cute! She complained about how hot it was though...



Dad opted for no dessert (I know, first meal and NO dessert!? Ugh dad.. get used to it!) Turns out that my dad forgot his pills to keep his blood sugar down and he didn't want to worry us so he kept it a secret... this is why he kept his desserts to a minimum on the trip.

None of the desserts sounded great to me so I got fruit. I'm glad I did. It was refreshing and just what I needed to finish off the night. As you can see in the picture, there's one of the little balls from my sister's dessert on my fruit.. hehe.



All in all, this was a great choice to start the trip off. Dad LOVED this restaurant. It was quiet and not too "in your face" like Disney can often get...

Our bill came to $163.49. That blew their minds... yay for dining plans!

Sci-Fi Rating (7/10) - mostly for atmosphere... the food is good but not spectacular. It's probably one of the quietest restaurants in all of Disney.

 

[ses1230]

Great start Kristy! Can't wait to see more pictures!

 

[budafam]

Rewinding to before Fantasmic... I forgot that we were so hungry, we got a few snacks... my sister & I got nachos & 2 sodas. The kids got cotton candy (yup, let the sugar rush begin!)







For what they charge for the "nachos", they could at least open the bag and pour them into the container for you. The cheese wasn't warm so it was just okay. It was the first time I've ever had nachos and actually had cheese leftover at the end.

No complaints about the cotton candy either.

 

[RGirl]

Joining in!

Your Sci-Fi pics are great. We have never eaten there, so I really enjoyed seeing some pics of the interior.

The fried pickles sound soooo good. Mmmmmm I am fascinated with that picnic burger - it sounds so odd! I’m glad to hear that it is tasty!!!

I didn’t even realize Sci-Fi had steak! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a review before. Sounds like it wasn’t half-bad.

Your poor dad, forgetting his medication. I hope it didn’t impact his trip enjoyment.

The kids look so happy with their cotton candy.

 

[mcbj]

Great start, joining in!

 

[DnA2010]

Great start, love the matching shirts!

 

[budafam]

Joining in!

Your Sci-Fi pics are great. We have never eaten there, so I really enjoyed seeing some pics of the interior.

The fried pickles sound soooo good. Mmmmmm I am fascinated with that picnic burger - it sounds so odd! I’m glad to hear that it is tasty!!!

I didn’t even realize Sci-Fi had steak! I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in a review before. Sounds like it wasn’t half-bad.

Your poor dad, forgetting his medication. I hope it didn’t impact his trip enjoyment.

The kids look so happy with their cotton candy.

Thank you! It's really a neat place to go. Dad is in great shape. He's not really into sweets as is so it wasn't too big of a deal for him. Once we got home, he checked his blood sugar and it was a bit high but after a few day back on the pills it went right back down.

Great start, joining in!

Yay! Welcome!

Great start, love the matching shirts!

Thanks! This was the only day we did the matching shirts.. I wish I had planned more to be honest... it's always so easy to find each other in a crowd that way, lol!

 

[alex9179]

Looking forward to your reviews, especially 50's and Y&Y. We're doing lunches there on our trip next month, too.

I'm very curious how your California Grill dinner went, as I've read quite a few less-than-thrilled reviews.

 

[budafam]

We've been here before... twice for breakfast & once for lunch. I've never had a bad meal here. I don't get why people don't like this place.

We originally had a Cape May breakfast booked for this morning and I decided to change it a month after I booked. There was NOTHING available for H&V at all! I checked every day for months. 4 days before our trip an 8:05am ADR popped up and I nabbed it!







The food was the usual. Somehow my sister found the ice cream for dessert (yeah, dessert for breakfast). You'll see the trend soon enough.. lol.

We had a great waitress, very attentive. The characters that made it to our table were good.







It was almost 9am (park opening) and Jake wasn't even close to getting to our table. Normally I would let the waitress know but we wanted to get out of here and go to Toy Story Mania so we just left without meeting Jake. Oh well...

Overall I give H&V a 6/10. I think it's worth it to get into the park before it opens. The buffet is great, LOTS to choose from and all tasted really good (I love the "make your own burrito" selection). The characters aren't my faves but the kids like them. Once Doc & Sofia are added, this will be a hot spot for quite some time. I know it's on our list for next trip again...

 

[budafam]

Looking forward to your reviews, especially 50's and Y&Y. We're doing lunches there on our trip next month, too.

I'm very curious how your California Grill dinner went, as I've read quite a few less-than-thrilled reviews.

I hope I get them done before you go!

I went to Cali Grill last October for the first time and the bad reviews made me nervous... all I wanted was my spicy Kazan roll and I would be a happy camper!

 

[RGirl]

The H&V food looked really good. I love the idea of a make-your-own-burrito bar. Yum! Too bad you had to miss out on Jake.

We have never gone because DD never watched any of the shows featuring the characters there, except Jake. If we were going in 2014, however, I would probably book it for Sofia and Doc.

 

[budafam]

After a few rides we visited Starring Rolls. No one was really hungry of course but we did what we had to do. My favorite is the red velvet cupcake. None of the other adults wanted anything so the kids picked out a gingerbread cupcake. They were both great as always... I finished the majority of mine. The kids finished about half of theirs.









Since we had a late lunch at Prime Time, we decided to go back to the resort for a rest.

 

[budafam]

We had a 3pm reservation for 50's Prime Time.



We tried checking in 30 minutes early and they would not let us. We had to wait until 15 minutes prior. So we did. We checked in and were told to go wait. The waiting area was FULL. A very nice couple got up from the couch and offered the seat to my dad and sister. I'm so thankful for this. My dad seemed pretty tired already.







The wait ended up being about 20 minutes. Finally "Budaaaaaa family!!! Time to eat!"

We had a great waitress. She went through a lot of stuff with us and was pretty funny as well. She gave the kids a hard time with everything. We put our orders in.

We all ordered milkshakes since those were included with the deluxe dining plan as "drinks".



Both my dad & sister ordered chicken soup for appetizers. ...nothing really mind blowing there. It was your basic chicken soup...



I ordered the Battered Onion Rings - served with Horseradish sauce $6.49.



The horseradish sauce was fantastic. I finished these all. Loved them. The kids got carrot sticks & celery as their appetizer. DS ate the majority of his... DD wouldn't touch them.



Entrees..
Both dad and I ordered A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes - Crispy-fried Chicken, Fork Tender Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings $20.99.



I've had this the last 2 times I was there. The first time it was a HUGE plate, the second time, it was much smaller and this time it was just right. Everything is great with this dish. The pot roast is my favorite.

My sister ordered the Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie - A creamy cheese mixture of chicken, mushrooms, carrots, celery, onions, and peas topped with a flaky pastry $18.99.



She really enjoyed this dish as well. I had a bite and thought it was very yummy.

DD ordered the hot dog that came with French fries. She loved it and ate the majority.



DS ordered the chicken nuggets with fries. He didn't finish it but seemed to enjoy them (as much as you can enjoy chicken nuggets).



Dessert..
Our waitress dropped off the dessert menu..



The kids both ordered the "Make Your Own Sundae" and they loved them. Who wouldn't?



Dad skipped on dessert. My sister ordered the 50's Boston Cream Parfait - layers of chocolate fudge, vanilla cream, and pound cake topped with whipped dream $5.49.



She ate every bite. I got the Dad's Brownie Sundae - Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Caramel sauce, whipped cream and toppings $6.49 not realizing how absolutely gigantic this thing is!



The caramel corn and ice cream/whipped cream was fantastic. I'm not a huge brownie fan but from the few bites I took of it, yum! There were a few couples next to us (older people) and one of the guys slid his chair over to me and asked how on Earth we were going to finish that dessert together lol... he was pretty funny. I got maybe half of this down and that was all I could do.

This was a great lunch. We had a lot of fun and the food was good.

Our bill came to $157.32.

We gave it a 8/10. Someday I will return I'm sure...

 

[WildGinger]

Love your review. 50's Prime time looks yummy!

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Joining in!