DDP+1 Solo Diner=TOO Much Food!

[aubriee]

I was at WDW solo May 5th-13th and even though I have the DDE card, decided to go with the Disney Dining Plan this trip. I've used it three other times, but always had someone to share with. I found it is definitely too much food. However, I ordered whatever I was in the mood for and did not worry about wasting food. Because I was arriving prior to lunch and leaving after dinner I knew I'd be paying for two meals OOP and chose TS for both (using my DDE card). I'm also not a breakfast eater. Anyway, I've never done a dining review so thought I'd give it a shot.

I ate at Le Cellier, La Kringla Bakeri, Cape May, Liberty Tree Tavern, Kona, Wolfgang Puck Express, Spoodles, Pepper Market, Boma, Starring Rolls Cafe, Wolfgang Puck, Tusker House, Turf Club, Chef's de France, Rose & Crown, Wolfgang Puck Express (again), Earl of Sandwich, and All Star Sports.

First off I was later arriving than I thought I'd be, so I missed lunch my first day (which gave me an extra CS to use later in the trip).

For snacks I got Figaro Fries at Pinocchio House, a Fried Snickers (Doh Bar) at Cookes of Dublin, a caramel ice cream sundae at AS Sports, a milk chocolate mint smoothie candy slab at Boardwalk Sweets, and still had four snack credits left over. My last day I went to Goofy's Candy Store and got two pieces of fudge, another milk choc mint smoothie, and a haystack to bring home. Anyway, the total for my snacks would have been $31.79.

Sat May 5th I arrived about 20 minutes prior to my ADR time at Le Cellier, but was not seated until 10 minutes after my ADR time. I was informed by my waitress, Deanna, that I was seated in the New Brunswick section. She was very attentive and made recommendations, but did not tell me the story about the bread sticks and the different provinces, which even though I knew it, I still missed. I ordered the chocolate raspberry shake as my drink and decided to take Deanna's recommendation and tried a new appetizer 'Duck Two Ways' which is Duck Confit and seared smoked duck with chambard syrup. It had three raspberries for garnish and was very tender. I discovered I liked duck. I then ordered the filet mignon with mushroom risotto with white truffle herb butter sauce and fried parsnips. It was delicious, as always. For dessert I ordered the sorbet duo which was blackberry with blackberry syrup and white peach with some kind of syrup on it. Both had quite a few large ice crystals in them and were just OK, but since I just wanted a taste they were fine. The price would have been $62.58 without the DDP.

 

[SheenaXena21]

Keep 'em coming!!!

 

[aubriee]

Sunday May 6th I went back to Epcot. I had lunch at the La Kringla Bakeri in Norway. The CM taking my order was new and told me they did not take the DDP and it could only be used at Akershus. I informed her I had used it there three times before, so she asked the CM behind the register. He came over, verified they did accept it, and asked what I had gotten before. When I told him soup, sandwich, lg soda, and a dessert, he said that was right. A man who was ordering in front of me, from a different CM, overheard us and said his CM didn't tell him he could have soup. with his sandwich. The third CM said he was sorry, but he hadn't asked for soup. Anyway, I ordered the leek soup, salmon sandwich, strawberry rice cream, and a large coke. The leek soup was hot, cheesy, and wonderful. The salmon on the sandwich was wrapped around cold scrambled eggs. Sometimes the bread here tastes kinda stale if you order later in the day, but not today it was very soft and fresh. The rice cream was wonderful as usual. Sitting outside on the covered patio overlooking the lake, people watching, and feeding the sparrows some of my sandwich was very relaxing. I always like this place. The price would have been $14.34 without the DDP.

For dinner that night I had a 7:00pm ADR for Cape May. However, I was tired so decided to see if I could get in earlier. I arrived just as they opened and saw both walk up families ahead of me turned away (really told to come back after 7:00pm to see if they could get in). Seeing that, I didn't expect to be able to get in early, but surprisingly I was immediately given a beeper and was seated just a few minutes later (maybe it was because I already had an ADR or it may have been because I was a solo diner). Karima was my waitress and was very attentive. I ordered iced tea and then dug in. I filled my salad plate with fruit salad, seafood pasta, broccoli slaw, olives, and ceasar salad. I then went after the beef with mushroom, salmon, prime rib, brocollini, a pasta dish, smashed potatoes, clams, mussels, boiled shrimp, and even grabbed a rib. I know the seafood side of this buffet gets a bad rap, but I found that if you arrive as soon as they open the clams and mussels are still in their shells. Tonight they were hot and very tender. For dessert I sampled an oreo bon bon, flan with fresh berries, strawberry mousse, and German chocolate cake. This was the cheapest meal I used the DDP for. It would have been $32.26. Maybe if your from New England it doesn't taste like a real clam bake, but for this landlocked Texan it was very good.

 

[wilma-bride]

Great reviews - looking forward to more

 

[aubriee]

I wanted to try Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch this trip, but did not want to waste a TS credit on it, so decided to pay OOP using my DDE card. I'm glad I paid OOP for it, as it was my most disappointing meal of the trip. I've read good reviews of this place, so went in with high expectations. My ADR was for 11:30am and I was the second person to check in. However, 6 or 7 families were seated ahead of me. I was finally seated at the first table as you stepped up into the Betsy Ross Room. Everybody who came in after me was bumping into me or my table. Sandi was my waitress. She was an older lady and very friendly but did not time the meal well. I ordered cheese sticks, Sandwich Heard Around the World with fruit, and griddled pound cake with caramel pecan sauce and asked to substitute cinnamon ice cream for the vanilla that came with it. Sandi said it wouldn't be a problem. The cheese sticks were good (some mozzarella and some cheddar), but just as I picked up my second cheese stick, my sandwich was brought out. It's a good thing the cheese sticks were good, because the sandwich was not. It was very dry with just turkey and a slice of mozzarella cheese on it. I ate almost 2/3's of a half before I realized there was no cranberry on it. When I showed Sandi, she just shrugged and said the chef must have forgot and then she walked off. Anyway I left the rest of the sandwich because it was too dry and blah to eat. My dessert was very good, but arrived with vanilla ice cream instead of the cinnamon I had ordered. My final complaint is that I finished my water about halfway through my cheese sticks and asked for a refill three different times, but never got it. I was dying of thirst when I got out of there. The price with my DDE card was $21.91 with tip. Definitely not worth it!

That night I ate at Konas. I arrived about 25 minutes prior to my ADR time, but was seated exactly at my ADR time. This was one of the better meals of the trip, but a rather strange one. I was seated at the first table on the right (at a table for four) just across from the check in desk. Paula was my waitress, was inconspicuous, but there when needed. The sweet Hawaiian bread with butter was very good. I had a raspberry smoothie for my drink and the duck pot stickers for my appetizer. They were very good, but this is where my meal became strange. Right after I started eating, a little boy (about 4 or 5 y/o) suddenly appeared, climbed up into the chair beside of me, pointed to my pot stickers, and said "I want one of them". I was speechless, looking around for this kid's parents. My first instinct was to give him one, but then I thought what if he's allergic to something in them. I looked over at the woman checking people in and both her and the other hostess looked as surprised as I felt. He had apparently come from the very large table behind me, because his mom finally appeared, embarrassed, and apologizing profusely. Maybe you had to be there, but it was just so funny at the time. Anyway I finished my delicious pot stickers and I then received my macadamia crusted Mahi Mahi. It was sooo good, but I wanted to try dessert so left over half of it. Unfortunately I was still too full to finish my banana creme brulee, but it was wonderful too. The cost without the DDP would have been $46.40

 

[wilma-bride]

Right after I started eating, a little boy (about 4 or 5 y/o) suddenly appeared, climbed up into the chair beside of me, pointed to my pot stickers, and said "I want one of them".

I laughed out loud when I read that because that is exactly the kind of thing my little boy would do - which is the main reason we don't take him out in public to eat Probably not a great experience at the time (when you're trying to enjoy a quiet dinner) but very funny to read

Keep the reviews coming - interesting that you weren't impressed with LTT. Your server sounds like she could have done with a kick up the backside - surprised you left a tip

 

[aubriee]

Lunch on Tuesday was Wolfgang Pucks Express. WPE is consistently one of my favorite counter service meals and today did not disappoint. I had the Linguine Chicken Bolognese, creme brulee, and mango tea. All were very good, The price would have been $17.95.

Dinner Tuesday night was at Spoodles. I know this restaurant gets good reviews, but this is the second time this year I have eaten there. I did not like it and got bad service both times. When I ate there in Dec I thought maybe it was just my waiter and what I ordered. However, I didn't like it any better this time. Said was officially my waiter (but Barbara was the one that kept asking me if I was OK, while Said was tied up with a very loud, large table of 12). Other than taking my order and finally bringing my ticket I never saw Said. I used my DDE to order a glass of sangria. It was very good (very sweet and fruity). I then ordered a bottle of water, lemon garlic shrimp, red snapper on couscous, and white chocolate cheesecake. The bread and olive oil were good. The shrimp were very tough and did not taste lemony or garlicky. The red snapper was OK, but the couscous were very large, had sausage in it, and was very soupy. It wasn't good at all. Instead of my white chocolate cheesecake that I was looking so forward to, I received a chocolate orange cake. However, I just ate it because I had been in there so long, I just wanted to get my ticket and leave. To be fair the chocolate orange cake was very good, just not what I ordered. Barbara was waiting on a couple sitting next to me. They came in quite awhile after I did, ordered appetizers, entrees, and dessert, just like I did, and still got out before I even got to order dessert. I ate a few bites of my dessert, sat the plate on the other side of the table so he'd know I was finished, and then just sat there getting more and more frustrated, when I finally asked Barbara if she could get Said to give me my ticket. It was still a good 7-8 minutes before he showed up with it. The price was $55.32 + $7.74 for the Sangria (using the DDE discount). Of course if you use the DDE card to order anything extra while on the DDP the 18% tip is added to it automatically--normally I would have tipped extra, but not this time.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Your reviews are great! I was laughing out loud with your Kona story!

 

[aubriee]

Wednesday I decided to take a break from the parks and went to the Pepper Market at CSR to eat lunch. I arrived at 11:15am. It was a good time as very few people were in there. Around 12:00 it started getting crowded. There was a tow truck convention going on. Anyway the Pepper Market was an excellent value for CS on the DDP. Ben was my waiter and made sure I had a menu and understood how the Pepper Market worked. He was great. He got me a coke, while I went to get my food. I ordered a rib eye steak with grilled vegetables and told the CM I did not want french fries. I guess he added extra roasted vegetables because my plate was full. Since it was CS I was expecting a small steak, but it was very large and cooked perfectly to a medium. The roasted vegetables were yellow squash, zucchini, peppers, and onions and were also very good. The CM working over by the desserts explained that on the DDP you are allowed Tier 1 or Tier 2 desserts (basically anything except the cakes items in the refridgerated section). She said the best deal for dessert on the DDP was the offer of a choice of any three items (brownies, churro, and chocolate chip cookie). You can get all three and it still counts as one dessert. This is what I got. Unfortunately the desserts weren't that good--the brownie was dry and the chocolate chip cookie was too done. The churro was the only one that was good. The price would have been $28.37--again a great value for a counter service on the DDP.

My original plan for dinner that night was to pay OOP (using my DDE card) at Jikos. However, I was hungry and tired, so decided to see if I could check in an hour early. I arrived just before they opened, but was unable to get in early, so tried next door at Bomas and was seated at 5:00pm. Since it would be one of my cheaper meals I decided to go ahead and pay OOP and use my DDE card. I caught them on the night they had ribs and macadamia crusted salmon. Both were good, but what I really love here are the soups. Their curry seafood soup and carrot ginger soup are wonderful. For dessert my favorites were the milk tart, mango tart, and of course their zebra domes. The waitress told me they had changed the liquor used in the zebra domes to make them more authentic. I think she said they are now made with amaretto. Whatever, they were still good. With my DDE discount the price was $22.15 plus tip made it $27.35.

 

[aubriee]

On Thursday I was at MGM and craving a piece of grapefruit cake, so went to the Starring Rolls Cafe only to find, that despite what I had heard, they did not offer the grapefruit cake and according to the two CMs working in there never had. They did say several people had been in asking for it though. I ordered a black forest ham sandwich with fruit. I thought the fruit would be a fruit salad, but the CM pointed to a bowl of bananas, apples, and oranges beside her and said to pick out my fruit. I changed my mind and picked up a bag of sea salt and malt vinegar potato chips instead. I also chose a banana parfait for dessert. This was the one CS thus far that I couldn't get a large soda--only a medium was allowed on the DDP. The sandwich was really good. It had tons of ham, a piece of cheese, lettuce, and a spicy brown mustard that gave it alot of flavor. The banana parfait tasted like a creamy banana pudding with chocolate chunks in it and whipped cream on top, with drizzled chocolate syrup and a dried banana chip on top of that. I know MGM is not known for decent CS, but Starring Rolls was a pleasant surprise. The cost would have been $11.90.

I went to DTD for dinner that night at Wolfgang Pucks Cafe. I arrived at 4:30pm and was seated at 4:40pm for an 5:00pm ADR. I asked for and received a very nice table with windows, both beside and in front of me overlooking the river and Saratoga Springs resort. I had a very nice waiter named James. He was attentive, but not intrusive. I started with a glass of mango iced tea, two kinds of bread and olive oil. For an appetizer I chose artichoke dip. It was good, but I wanted to save room for my entree and dessert. I had heard that the Wolf's steak was no longer available, but it is still on the menu and still available on the DDP. I ordered it medium and it was cooked perfectly. I don't care for fries, so James offered garlic mashed potatoes. They were good, but a little too salty and garlicky. I was too full for dessert, but James suggested I take it to go, so I ordered key lime pie. I'm afraid (despite having a refrigerator in my room) that I never got around to eating it. However, I did try just a bite two days later before threw it out and it was very good. The amount charged by WGP was only $36.00. I asked James about it and he explained that $36.00 is what WGP gets reimbursed for as a nonDisney restaurant. I told him I didn't think that was fair as the waiters then get shortchanged on their tips, because most of us don't know that. He insisted it didn't matter and works out. Because I didn't know what the total should have been and because math was never my best subject I couldn't quickly figure out what the tip should be, so just added a $5.00 bill. I think I may have still short changed him, but really didn't mean to, I just couldn't think quick enough. After I got home I figured the bill should have been (with an 18% tip) $61.49. I'm still not for sure how much of that $36.00 Disney reimburses them the servers get .

 

[aubriee]

On Friday I had lunch at Tusker House about 11:00am, which was a perfect time as I had the little room to the back and to the right all to myself until about 5 minutes before I left. I ordered the 1/2 rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, a large coke, and chocolate cake. It was all delicious as always, except the desserts are now those little prepackaged ones used in the other parks. The chocolate cake was very moist and chocolaty though. The price would have been $14.88.

I had dinner that night at the Turf Club in Saratoga Springs resort. I must say this was the best meal of my entire trip. I had a table in the very back right next to the large window overlooking the patio and river. Rudi was my waiter and was very nice and attentive. I took only a taste of the bread and butter offered before the meal, but they were good. I was able to get the blackberry lemonade as my drink and it was so refreshing. I ordered calamari as my appetizer. It was a HUGE amount and they were small, tender,and soo good. The marinara sauce that came with them was OK, but I really liked the other sauce. It was a spicy mayonnaise type sauce (Aioli?). I ordered my steak cooked medium. It was very tender and cooked perfectly. I was allowed to add the crab meat add on to it and it complemented it perfectly. The hot apple pie I ordered for dessert was very flaky, tender, and cinnamony, If I had one complaint it would be that the ice cream that came with the pie had quite a few ice crystals in it, but that would be a very minor, nit picky complaint as the rest of the meal was so good. I will be cancelling one of my ADRs for my Sept/Oct trip in order to rebook here. I enjoyed it more than my steak at Le Cellier earlier in the week. One final comment, I don't believe it's listed on the All Ears menus, but they have lamb chops here that I know my mom would love. The price would have been $52.24.

 

[Weeziblu]

Great review! I'm really enjoying it! Can't wait to read the rest!

Right after I started eating, a little boy (about 4 or 5 y/o) suddenly appeared, climbed up into the chair beside of me, pointed to my pot stickers, and said "I want one of them". I was speechless, looking around for this kid's parents. My first instinct was to give him one, but then I thought what if he's allergic to something in them.

My eyeballs popped out of my head when I read that. Toooo funny!

 

[wilma-bride]

Thanks for the tip about the gratuity at WPC - we will be eating there in August so I will make sure to take note of how much the tip 'should' be so I can add the extra.

Great reviews.

 

[aubriee]

On Saturday I had lunch at Chefs de France. The appetizer and dessert were wonderful, but not the entree. First off I had a very nice table by the window and Michael was a very good waiter. Rolls and butter were OK. I tried escargot for the first time and discovered I liked them. They were garlicky, chewy, but delicious. The salmon with mashed potatoes and cherry tomatoes was not great. The salmon was overcooked and dry, mashed potatoes were lumpy and bland. They tasted like they needed some salt, pepper, butter, and cream/milk added to them. The cold cherry tomatoes halved and drizzled with oil used to garnish the plate were the best part of the entree. I know you shouldn't eat the garnish, but those tomatoes were all that I liked. I've never had rhubarb so decided to order the rhubarb and blueberry clafoutis with red berry sauce and sorbet for dessert. It also had strawberries and blueberries and the raspberry sorbet was on a bed of white chocolate shavings. It had a chocolate stick for garnish. It was wonderful. The restaurant itself was very warm. Price would have been $45.94.

I always give a good recommendation for the Rose & Crown, but did not particularly enjoy it that night for dinner. I know a request for a patio table is just a request, but thus far have received one three out of three times. My luck ran out tonight though. I got seated inside at the little round table in front of the fireplace (nowhere near even a window). Oh well, I've always loved the food and service here, so I was still OK. Kevin from Glascow, Scotland was my waiter, was very attentive, friendly, and kept my glass filled. Anyway I ordered my favorite fruit and cheese plate, only to find they had changed it. You no longer get the green cheese, striped cheese,or cheese biscuit and you only get two thin slices of apple instead of the regular 4 or 5. They replaced the cheeses with two new ones. You still get those wonderful spiced walnuts and the grapes, of course. It was still too big and still good--just different. They have a new entree that I decided to try--pork loin with barley, onions, and mushrooms. It was too dry and I only found two little pieces of mushrooms in the barley. I also tried a new dessert of fresh berry scone. It was HUGE! The blueberry scone was a little dry, but the strawberries, blueberries, and sweetened cream that was in the middle were great. The price would have been $48.76.

 

[dizkids]

This is GREAT! Thanks. I like the solo dining review. I usually just end up getting confused about who ate what.....Not this time : ) Good job....making me very hungry

 

[aubriee]

I had three counter services left for my last day (but my plane wasn't leaving until that night). With my extra CS I decided to try Wolfgang Pucks Express for breakfast. I am not a breakfast eater, but will definitely eat here again. Next to the Turf Club it was probably my favorite meal and definitely my favorite CS (and again I don't usually eat breakfast). I ordered their cornflake crusted french toast with fresh fruit and syrup and grapefruit juice. I was expecting a single piece of french toast, but got three slices. They appeared to be a sliced bagel that was coated with cornflakes and cinnamon and then after cooking were covered with fresh strawberries, sliced bananas, and blueberries, then topped with syrup. I didn't eat but about half, but they were sooo good. The ruby red grapefruit juice was not quite cold yet, so they gave me a cup of ice. It was very sweet and refreshing. Price would have been $11.13 and worth every penny. I'll definitely be back!

I ran by the Earl of Sandwich to get something to eat at the airport since my plane didn't leave until later that night. This place was a madhouse and very, very loud. Their sandwiches are wonderful though. Unrelated to a food review, but I couldn't believe the number of unmagical people here (patrons, not staff). There was a middle aged couple in front of me that had a Jr High age kid with them (maybe a grandchild). They berated him all the way through the line and at one point the woman grabbed him by the shoulder, shook him, and called him an 'ungrateful brat'. I don't know what else he'd done that morning, but the only thing I heard was that he wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat yet. His simple comment set the woman off on a rampage that lasted all the way through the line. She finally told him that if he didn't eat then, not to ask for anything later because he could starve for all she cared. The poor kid was in tears and just kept saying he wasn't hungry. Then the lady behind me suddenly yelled at and slapped her Jr High age son. He then pushed her telling her to stop hitting him, he was tired of it, and that was all she'd done the whole trip so far. She slapped him again across the face and told him to stop driving her crazy then and she wouldn't have to slap him. Anyway, I finally got to where you fill your cups and the guy in front of me had four resort mugs his wife handed him out of her back pack, and he started filling them, for their drinks. There was a CM right there restocking the napkins, so I asked him if we were allowed to fill the resort mugs at the Earl of Sandwich. I thought he'd say something to the guy, but he just looked at him, hesitated for a minute, then said "yeah, sure! No problem.". I couldn't believe it. Anyway I drank my soda on the way back to the resort and ate my chips and sandwich at the airport (I had substituted chips for a dessert). Even cold the Earl's sandwiches are good. Price would have been $10.07.

I used my last CS for a late lunch about 1:45pm at All Star Sports food court. This was a very pleasant surprise, as I had walked through the food court earlier in the week and was not impressed. I ordered the beef taco salad (also comes with shredded pork). It was in a fried tortilla shell and had almost too much toppings (beef, black olives, onions, lettuce, sour cream, picante sauce, and jalapenos). In fact it could have probably used a little more lettuce and less toppings and you can't say that about alot of salads. It was very tasty. I got a crumb cake for dessert and it was very moist and fresh. I didn't eat it all, but was very good also. I also got a 20 oz bottle of water. The price would have been $12.61.

In summary I spent $303.92 for the DDP and for that spent $31.79 for snack credits, $121.25 for CS credits, $405.11 for TS credits, $57.00 OOP for my meals at Boma, LTT, and sangria at Spoodles, and then $11.99 for my resort mug. So using the DDP credits I spent $558.15 on food (ordering not necessarily the most expensive things on the menu, but just whatever I was in the mood for), plus $68.99 OOP that I easily could have done without, by manipulating my DDP credits differently.

 

[Mom of 3]

Loved your reviews. Thanks

 

[wishesUT]

Thanks for your reviews. Fun to read and very clear

 

[wilma-bride]

Fantastic reviews - thanks for taking the time to post them. Looks like the dining plan was quite a saving for you then And I see you're back to do it for free in a few months

I can't believe that woman at EOS - how awful. I think I might have been tempted to slap her on his behalf I always think it's really sad when parents get so stressy on what should be a great vacation

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent