DDP not for me, we're going PREMIUM!

[John's Mom]

Enjoying your reviews! Thanks for posting.

 

[honeymo78]

I love reading Premium plan food reviews (are you doing a trip report too by any chance). Some days I feel like I'm the only one that buys a dining and recreation package.

 

[JPoppins]

We are staying at the AKL Concierge Level in November too, and we are going to be on the Premium Plan also!! I have read alot on The Dis that people feel it is too much food with the Premium Plan and everything offered in the Lounge. Did you feel it was too much?

And I am seriously loving your report!!

Keep it coming!

 

[annakris1973]

We were at Le Cellier the same time you were! We also met Sarah in the Lobby!!! AND Sean was also our server!!!!! Small little lime green world isn't it??? Enjoying the review!

 

[amcjeep4life]

It's funny. I have yet to hear anyone like the beans at Flame Tree. What the heck do they do to them to make them so unappealing?

I think it has to do with the smashed consistency that mine were. I happen to like beans, but want them to look like beans, not oatmeal. After all, we do eat with our eyes first! And they were also a bit dry, which sort of put me off as well. My grandmother was the queen of baked beans, and I guess I just can't be won over by anything of less quality than hers!

We are staying at the AKL Concierge Level in November too, and we are going to be on the Premium Plan also!! I have read alot on The Dis that people feel it is too much food with the Premium Plan and everything offered in the Lounge. Did you feel it was too much?

And I am seriously loving your report!!

Keep it coming!

It is definitely a lot of food. However, we are pretty big eaters, so it was nice. We didn't eat a lot at the lounge, pretty much took advantage of them for the drinks, and some snacks. We didn't get to spend quite as much time at the lounge as we would have liked. I would love to see the lounge stay open a bit later, even an hour. Illuminations and Wishes were both at 9, and the lounge closes at 10. There is no way to get back to the resort if you are seeing the shows before the lounge closes. That would be my only gripe. They close too early. We also seemed to hit it at a change-over period pretty often. Just bad timing on our behalf. Otherwise it was awesome! The DH is really eager to go back next year, and he does want to do Concierge again and the Deluxe DDP this time.

We were at Le Cellier the same time you were! We also met Sarah in the Lobby!!! AND Sean was also our server!!!!! Small little lime green world isn't it??? Enjoying the review!

Sarah was so nice. And it was cool to point out to the girls that she was from Canada, and had come from very far away, just to eat in the same place we did. And Sean was awesome! Probably ties for the best server at WDW! His tie for first will be coming up in my next review. Unfortunately, I don't have time to do one right now, since it is a bit longer. The next meal, in my opinion, ties with Le Cellier for best meal of the trip, and John ties with Sean for best server. Want to know where it is? Guess you'll have to keep checking back!

 

[my3disneygirls]

I think it has to do with the smashed consistency that mine were. I happen to like beans, but want them to look like beans, not oatmeal. After all, we do eat with our eyes first! And they were also a bit dry, which sort of put me off as well. My grandmother was the queen of baked beans, and I guess I just can't be won over by anything of less quality than hers!

Yum, dry bean porridge. I can see why no one likes the beans. They would be better off just opening up a can of Bush's baked beans.

 

[familyS]

Thanks for taking the time to write reviews, looking forward to more .

 

[amcjeep4life]

Yum, dry bean porridge. I can see why no one likes the beans. They would be better off just opening up a can of Bush's baked beans.

I have to say, I personally would have been happier! The ones with onions (green can?) are about the only ones I eat, unless I take the time to make them myself!

 

[amcjeep4life]

OK, so here is the review of the restaurant that I think could give Le Cellier a run for the money. I can't get a consensus from everyone in our party as to which place was better. The vote keeps coming out 2/2. The problem with even numbered parties, I guess! I think I may actually put this place in front of le Cellier, but it is a bit more difficult to get to. It took us about 20 minutes on the bus, then about a 10 minute walk to the restaurant. We had ADRs for 6:15, checked in at 6, and were seated at 6:10. Pretty good. Our waiter, John, was awesome. He had a slight Irish accent (did I just give it away?) and was very friendly. He was right on top of everything, and explained some of the menu choices to us. He is the only one who didn't ask if we were on the DDP. My personal vote for favorite restaurant this trip, and definitely tied for first with Le Cellier...........Raglan Road!

Emma: had Sprite
Drunk Chicken 3 beautiful pieces of boneless breast, each on a skewer. Marinated in a whiskey glaze and grilled. They were awesome! She only ate 2, and we took a piece to go, which I ate cold and found to be just soooo tasty. And a big portion too! I expected 2 pieces per serving. She said she would have eaten the 3rd piece, but was looking forward to her entree.
Serious Sirloin I mentioned before that Emma is a steak eater. She was happy to see this on the menu. It was served medium rare, just as she asked. It came with some braised cabbage and mashed potatoes. The steak also had a whiskey glaze on it, and was quite tasty, at least the piece I managed to snag before she wacked my fingers. She ate every bit of this, and then said she was too full for dessert.
Strawberry Pavlova I told her I would pick her a dessert that I thought she would like, and she said she'd try. My secret thought was that I'd get to eat some of her dessert, but she ended up eating every bit! It was quartered strawberries macerated in some type of alcohol. They were then put over a pavlova, which is a bit like a meringue, but not as tasty, and served with vanilla ice cream. I think it was a seasonal dessert, since I don't see it on the menu on-line. She ate it all, although she said she didn't really like the pavlova part. I tried it, and didn't find it all that great either. it just lacked something, but the strawberries and ice cream were really good. Once the pavlova was broken, it sucked up the juices from the strawberries and melted ice cream, then it tasted lots better. So, my reccomendation, break it open first and let it soak up the juice, then eat it.

Sam: had Coke, big surprise!
Drunk Chicken Also really liked it. Only ate 2 pieces, then put the third away for later. She did eat it too, after we got out of there and were walking through Downtown Disney. Said it was very good, and she would have ordered it for dinner, if they offered it.
Ceasar Salad with chicken Personally, I think she wimped out here, and got a poor choice of entree. I just couldn't talk her out of it, after she saw it on the menu, she refused to look any further. Oh well. She said it was very good. It came out in a silver serving bowl, placed inside a colander, so the presentation was quite cute. The croutons were big and she said they tasted awesome. SHe said the chicken in the salad tasted just like her appetizer, which she liked. As she said, "Plain grilled chicken in a salad is so yuck." She also liked the fact that the chicken was warm in the salad. She said the dressing was really good and garlicky. It was a big portion, and she ate pretty much the whole thing. I know there were no croutons or chicken pieces left, just some lettuce. I know she enjoyed it, but it just seemd like such a waste that she was eating salad! There were so many better things on the menu!
Strawberry Pavlova She also liked it, and broke her pavlova open first, then pushed it around to soak up the juice. Ate it all.

Bill: had Coke
Drunk Chicken I really tried to talk him into ordering something a little different, but he was being difficult. Sometimes I think that he forgets he's got a three in front of the age he acts. Whatever, big baby. He said it was good and he ate all three pieces.
Kevin's Heavenly Ham This man could eat ham every day and not complain, so I knew when I started looking up menus on-line that he would be ordering this dish. I didn't even point it out to him, he found it all on his own. It comes with mashed potatoes, and braised cabbage and leeks. He was going to ask to leave the cabbage out, since the only way he eats cabbage is deep fried in an eggroll. Now, I'm German, and all we eat is cabbage! That is one of the few things we disagree on, but sometimes, I just have to make some sort of cabbage dish for dinner. Then he sulks and I tell him to go to his mom's and see what she has. He usually shuts up then, since his mom is a terrible cook! Anyway, he forgot to ask John to take the cabbage out and ended up with it. He ate it and said it was really good. I guess that means he'll eat the cabbage dishes next time! The pieces of ham were more like a pork loin, smoked into ham. They were very tasty, and were glazed with Irish Mist. He really enjoyed it, ate it all, and was quite sad that there was no more.
Dunbrody Kiss If you like chocolate, this is for you! I wavered back and forth about it for dessert, but in the end was won over to the other side, but more on that later. I think it literally says in the menu "We take chocolate, add more chocolate, and then more chocolate, 'nuff said." Something along those lines anyway. It came out in a half ball, about 3-4 inches in diameter. It was chocolate cornflakes (or that's what it looked and tasted like), covered in chocolate mousse, and then the whole thing was covered in chocolate ganache. And just for good measure, it was drizzled with chocolate syrup. WOW! It was really awesome, but very rich. Everybody had a little taste, and said it was good. He actually managed to finish the whole thing, which I'm not sure I could have done. It was really, really good. But you really have to like chocolate!

Me: I had iced tea, which is black currant flavored. Took me a bit to figure out, and I did finally have to ask John what the flavor was. It was really good.
Colpuccino This is a soup version of colcannon. It is a creamy soup, blended with cabbage, potatoes and ham. Reminded me a bit of split pea soup, without the noxious green color. It was very delicious, and I would like to make it here at home. Bill did try some, and actually liked it. We both like split pea, so I can see why he thought this was good. It came with a puff pastry finger through the handle of the mug. It was cold, not sure if it was supposed to be. I think it would have been better warm. It had some cheese on it, and was good dunked into the soup. Personally, I would have put some garlic butter on it and served it warm with the soup, but that's just my opinion!
Paddy's Pork This was awesome! It was stuffed with sausage stuffing, and glazed with, I think, Irish mist. It was sooo good! It was served with braised cabbage and mashed potatoes. (Do you see a theme here yet?) It looked like the potatoes and cabbage were put into a mod, since they were perfectly round. Then the pork piece was put over it, and served with a bit of the glaze on top. It was a nice presentation, and looked yum-o! And the taste, wow! The pork was very tender, and just fell apart when you moved it. It was really very good, and I would order it again. I was a bit worried about the stuffing, since I can be a bit picky about sausage, but this was very mild, and blended in with the pork loin wonderfully. There was only about a 1 inch diameter portion of stuffing running through the center of the pork, so even if you didn't like it, there was still plenty of pork left after you pushed the stuffing out. And I did, just to try them individually. Yea, I'm weird like that.
Triple Pleasure I wavered back and forth with this dessert choice. When I originally looked up menus on-line, I was positive I was ordering the Dunbrody Kiss. Then we got there, and this was on the menu too. I am very glad I chose this, since it was totally awesome! It was white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate mousse, and tiramisu. They each came out in their own individual cup, a bit larger than a shot glass. The white chocolate mousse was good, and tasted like it had some very finely pureed ricotta cheese in it. It didn't have that heavy feeling like the mousse did. It was very good, whatever they did! The dark chocolate mousse was divine! I love chocolate, and the darker the better! This stuff was sooo good, I almost didn't want to share. Unfortunately, I was a bit stuffed, and mousse is so rich, I ended up leaving half of each cup. Which made everyone else pretty happy, as they scarfed them down like wild dogs! The tiramisu was also very good. Nothing overwhemingly better than any other tiramisu, but at least it was good tiramisu! The little lady fingers soaked in espresso were cut into small pieces to fit in the bottom of the cup, so they were definitely espresso-d! It was good, and together with the mousses, it just made for an awesome dessert chioce!

I know, everyone talks about the Ger's Bread and butter pudding, and up to a week before we left I was positive that I would have that. Then, I noticed someone mentioned something about raisins. BLECHHHH! I hate raisins with an absolute passion! And John said they were the golden raisins, which look even worse. Needless to say, no bread pudding for me! Sorry everyone, I bet it's good, without the raisins! Sounded yummy, and I'm glad someone put it here, and then I asked just to double check. I would have been quite bummed, and probably paying for my dessert OOP!

Also, they put a basket of Irish Soda bread on the table, along with an "Irish Egg." It's a dollop of olive oil on a plate with a Guiness and sugar reduction in the middle. It does look like an egg, but it grossed my nieces out when they heard him call it that, and they wouldn't even try it. I tried to explain what it was, but they wouldn't listen. Oh well, more for me! It was very good, and really complemented the bread. The girls did try the bread, and liked it. I was happy there were no raisins there!

John was an awesome server! I would say he was as good as Sean from Le Cellier, just didn't give the girls quite as hard a time as Sean did. He brought sodas without being asked, checked on us repeatedly, and explained all the dishes, all with his slight Irish accent. Make me drool! I'm not sure if John's accent or the food caused the drool, but either was worth it! I loved this place, and want to go back. The only down side is really the distance from everything. We were going to Downtown Disney for the Cirque du Soleil show, otherwise I probably wouldn't have strayed this far from the resorts and parks. The DH and I are not nightclub people, so would not have ventured to Pleasure Island just to eat. If they could pick this place up and move it to one of the parks, I would guarantee to eat here everytime. But, unless I was going to DtD for something, it just seems a bit of a PiTA to get here for dinner. Which really bites, because this place was awesome! We didn't get to hear the music or see the dancers, since we had tickets for the late show of Cirque. I would definitely like to go back once to see them. That might make the trip worth it!

Food:
Service:
Yo-yo factor: in a heartbeat!

Total cost: $139.24 ($50 cheaper than Le Cellier, which may have been a consideration if I was paying OOP!)

 

[saffy]

Oh, I'm going to be staying at AKL concierge for our upcoming trip! Can you do me a favor and post what they had in the lounge at different parts of the day you went there?
What were the breakfasts like?

Of course, you probably had so much other food, you didn't need to go to the lounge too much!

 

[amcjeep4life]

Saffy,

You are right, we really didn't get to spend a lot of time in the concierge lounge. From what I remember, breakfast was continental; bagels, fruit, muffins, cereal, juice and some pastries. The morning we went there, they had hot tea, coffee, the espresso machine was going, they also had juices and milk in the little fridge, and frunch out on the counter. If we had been doing the regular DDP, it would have been a good place to round out your credits, but we didn't really use it since we had breakfast planned every day. They also offered snacks at different times during the day; goldfish crackers, dried fruit, pretzels, spiced nuts. They always had soda, iced tea, lemonade, chocolate and white milk, and coffee no matter what time you went. We went once for the appetizers, they had olives (like 4 different kinds), and some hot appetizers from Boma; mini bobotie, hummus and flatbread. Didn't really do it for us. And remember, there is a period between each time slot where there is NOTHING out. We seemed to hit it then quite a bit. We never got to experience the desserts, since we were never in the area for it. We actually used the lounge more for drinks than anything else. We would grab 2 sodas each, and put them in the mini fridge for later, since we often got back aftr the lounge closed at 10. Overall, we weren't that impressed, and I'm sure it has more to do with us being so busy and unable to use all the amenities offered. I loved the help I got from the concierge staff (Don was awesome!), but our next trip we will be skipping concierge, doing Deluxe DDP, and using the money saved to buy drinks, since that is all we really got out of it. Good luck with your trip, and plan some down time at the hotel. We are soo sorry we didn't have more time to spend there! And if you didn't sign up for the Sunrise Safari, I highly reccommend it!!!

 

[amcjeep4life]

I apologize to everyone for the delay in getting on with my reviews. It has been very crazy here!

Today was a late start for us. We had an 8:30 ADR at Boma for breakfast, and since we just needed to fall out of the elevator to make it, we didn't set the wakeup call until 7:45. Which was nice, since we woke up to rain. We checked in for out ADR at 8:32, guess that elevator took a bit longer than we thought. They gave us a pager, we walked around the corner to an empty bench, abd before our butts hit the wood, the pager was going off. Cool. We were seated, and told to wait for our server to order drinks. We waited, and waited, and waited. About 10 minutes later, after the girls went and got food, since they were just withering away with no food, our sever finally came. He was very rushed, took our orders, and came back with them right away. And that was pretty much the last we saw of him. Luckily, he had filled our glasses with OJ as well, so we made it through the meal without needing refills, but it seemed very annoying. The girls had the usual, pancakes, bacon, sausages, but I got brave. The corned beef bobotie was awesome! The breakfast potatoes were also quite tasty, and I had seconds of both. There was plenty of fresh fruit, and I had some pastries as well. Cinamon buns were yum-o! Overall, it was very good, and I wouldn't hesitate to eat here again. Just hope for a different server! Everything we ate was tasty, and hot, or cold, as required. Nothing too weird, which was good. Altogether, we were there about 30 minutes. We discussed our plans for the day, and headed back to the room to change into our bathing suits. And we headed off Blizzard Beach! Why not head to a water park when it's raining! I'll tell you next.

Food:
Service:
Yo-yo factor: , with a different server

Total cost: $84.61

 

[amcjeep4life]

Despite the rain, we headed off to Blizzard Beach. If you're going to spend the day wet, why not do it on purpose? It was still 80 some degrees out, and it wasn't thundering and lightning, just drizzling enough to be annying if you wanted to stay dry. So the four of us, along with 6 other hardy souls, boarded the bus to BB. I don't recall anyone actually in the park when we got there at about 10:30, and they had been open since 10. We found a nice cabana with dry seats, parked our crap, and headed to the wave pool. I honestly hate water parks, the slides just feel so out of control, I'm always afraid my tube is going to pop out of the slide and I'm going to crash. Call me weird, but that's how I feel. Needless to say, the daredevils I was with had no such compunctions about any of the slides, so they headed out while I hung out in the lazy river, and read a book I brought under the cabana. When lunch time arrived, so did the starving hordes, so we were off to Lottawatta Lodge. There really aren't too many choices here for lunch, but the food was good here.

Emma: had Sprite
Originally ordered the chicken wrap with no tomatoes. When she got it, it had raw onions on it, and she freaked. I swapped my chicken basket with her, but kept the fries. She kept the chips.
Chicken Fingers She said they were good and hot. Three nice big pieces, and she ate them all. She ate most of her potato chips, and helped me to fininsh my fries. I think she used ranch dressing for her fingers.

Sam: Coke
Chicken fingers basket with fries She also liked them, and ate all of it. She said the fries were the best she'd had in WDW. She used BBQ sauce and ranch dressing to dip her fingers.

Bill: Coke
Double Cheeseburger Basket with fries He also got a side order of cheese sauce, to dip his fries in. He said the burger was good, and was depressed that they didn't have bacon for it. He also said the fries were good, but drowned them in ketchup, so how would he know?

Me: had Diet coke
Wanted that chicken finger basket in the worst way, but didn't want to listen to the 10 y/o whine she was hungry all day.
Chicken Wrap with chips Luckily, she had ordered it with no tomatoes, so I switched with her. It was surprisingly good, although the chicken needs some seasoning. I personally think the onions added a good flavor, and they put mayo on the wrap, which also added something extra. It is also on a tomato or veggie wrap, rather than a plain one, which may turn kids away. The wrap was orange, instead of white. I would have preferred green (spinach) to the tomato one. Inside was just what you expect, chicken, mayo, red onions, lettuce and cheese. Remember, no tomato! It was pretty big, and after eating it, I didn't finish my fries. They were very good, lightly battered in a seasoned crust, and salty. Could have been crispier, but I blame that on the crappy weather. Although by this time, the sun was sarting to peek out at us, and there were about 100 people or so in the park.
For dessert, we all got Mickey bars that we were able to pick up later. After lunch, we went back to finish up the slides the girls wanted to do while I hung out in the lazy river for about 6 laps. They joined me periodically, then dashed off again to throw their little bodies down a tube at high speeds. Good for them! We grabbed our Mickey Bars and headed to the bus stop. I have to say, these were the best ice cream bars I've had! The dark chocolate was superb, and a pleasant change from milk chocolate. The ice cream was very rich, and refreshing. The only thing that could make these better would be if they offered them in chocolate ice cream! Oh lord, I'm droolin! Overall, a good day, and a good lunch!

Food: Honestly, for QS, it was good. Comparing it against other QS places, it deserved this.
Service: They just seemed so rushed. No one took the time to talk, just got your order and sent you along.
Yo-yo factor: Yes, but only because there really isn't that many other places to go to.

Total cost: $48.76

 

[girli565]

The not liking yellow cheese thing is more common than you think! I have a good friend at work who hates yellow cheese. I think it's hilarious but I have weird food quirks too so I can't be one to judge. My food needs to be organized a specific way before I eat it. A meal like fajitas becomes a ceremony for me!

 

[amcjeep4life]

Girli, you sound just like my sister! She won't eat fajitas tho, hates peppers! But soup or stews need to be seperated out, meat, carrots, potatoes into little piles, then eaten in a certain order. SHe actually has divided plates so nothing touches. She's a bit weird. Not that you are, or maybe you are. After all, who defines normal, and why do I have to listen to them? Best of luck with your close trip! We are heading back next December too! Just haven't finalized a date!

 

[amcjeep4life]

Tonight's dinner was at the Spirit of Aloha show. I know everyone says it is kind of cheesy, but I really enjoyed it. My nieces were mesmerized by the dancing, and I even found the "plot" to be decent. The food was awesome, and I would recommend it to anyone. I would also go back, but want to check out the Hoop de du next. They recommend checking in about 1 hour early. It was raining out, and I told the girls there was a chance the show would be cancelled due to the weather. But we put our Hawaiian outfits on and headed over to the Poly. After hiking about 10 miles to the show, we were turned around and headed back to the longhouse to check-in, due to the weather. May I just say the hike back was only about 5 miles, they really send you the long, round-about way to get there. We checked in, had our pictures taken, and snagged some seats to wait. After about 30 minutes, we were all herded down to the show to get seated. Because we were doing the premium plan, we were able to score Category 1 seating. Evidently you are seated by when you booked, and since we booked at 178 days, we got pretty much the best seats in the house. We were in the center, the first 2 seats on either side of the table. The view was spectacular, not that there really seems to be awful seats, but we certainly couldn't have asked for better. When we were seated, the salad platter was already there. Our server came and got our drinks; lemonade, 2 cokes, and iced tea. The salad has a citrusy-sweet dressing that is some kind of mango poppy seed dressing. I didn't see any poppy seeds, but it was dark, and I wasn't really looking. There was also a loaf of pineapple-coconut bread that was to die for good! I wanted the whole loaf myself, and had to fight the girls off for another piece. Luckily, our server saw the fight and brought us another loaf. There was butter there, but I can honestly say no one used it, so I couldn't tell you if it was plain or flavored butter. The bread really needed nothing to make it better. Also, there was a half pineapple, cut into sections. It was a cute presentation, and was hands down the best pineapple I ate the whole week. And I ate pineapple everywhere, since I love the stuff. The server also brought us some more pineapple, but then it was just in a silver trencher, no pineapple shell. Oh well, it still tasted awesome! I actually ate more pineapple than anything else, it was that good! The show sort of started and stopped while the food was being brought out, and it was cool. That way you weren't trying to eat and concentrate on the show. When the main platter was brought out, it was very impressive. Big quarters of chicken, ribs, rice and veggies. Yum! The chicken has a nice flavor to it, and wasn't dry at all. Bill and the girls said the ribs were really good, and did eat them all. I didn't have any, since I was trying to keep my shirt clean, and those ribs looked awfully messy! They did have handi-wipes on the table, so it was easy to wipe up after dinner. The veggies were a combination of broccoli, carrots, pea pods, and mushrooms. They were crisp-tender, and not mushy at all. Seasoned lightly, and still tasted like veggies, not salt! The rice had a good flavor too, abit sweet, but not overpowering. It was good, nothing super, nothing bad. Overall, I thought everything was good, and if you leave hungry, you are doing something wrong. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have got about 4 loaves of bread and taken them home! Yes, they were that good! Pretty soon, the show starts again, and then dessert is announced. It is some Kiluea Chocolate Volcano, and I wasn't all that impressed. The girls liked it, and split mine, so I was able to finish off that second dish of pineapple our server brought us! Bill liked it, and the girls thought it was awesome, but it has a raspberry syrup on it, and I hate the taste of fake raspberries. Must have just been me, since it looked like everyone at our table ate theirs and was happy. Oh well, to each their own. Soon after, our server told us if we wanted any more to eat or drink, we needed to let him know, since they were doing a last call before the show really started. We each got another drink, and that was the last we saw of him. He was very attentive, and had plenty of drinks brought out to us, often before we asked. And he told us to stop fighting over the bread, and brought us out another loaf without being asked. It was pretty funny actually. The second half of the show was totally awesome, and not to be missed. I see why they don't want the servers walking around interrupting it. Overall, the meal was good, the service was fantastic, and the show was well worth it.

Food:
Service:
Yo-yo factor: but I would like to try Hoop de Du first.

Total cost : $293.38

 

[girli565]

Girli, you sound just like my sister! She won't eat fajitas tho, hates peppers! But soup or stews need to be seperated out, meat, carrots, potatoes into little piles, then eaten in a certain order. SHe actually has divided plates so nothing touches. She's a bit weird. Not that you are, or maybe you are. After all, who defines normal, and why do I have to listen to them? Best of luck with your close trip! We are heading back next December too! Just haven't finalized a date!

Well, I'm not that into separating food but I do have to arrange a fajita my way or I can't eat it. The sour cream first then guacamole, then meat, cheese lettuce and salsa, lol. Burgers are kind of the same way.

Well if we're both going next december we will definitely have to have a DIS-meet!! And who says what is normal! I'm the most normal one in my family and I'm the weird on among my friends, lol, so what does that say!?

 

[saffy]

Thanks for answering about the CL. I know in thinking of our trip, we're already feeling like the CL coupled with the DDP is going to be too much food. I can only imagine that you didn't use it much with the Premium plan!

But, I appreciate your recollections of what was offered! We do plan to use it for breakfast and possibly to grab some sodas/water like you mentioned, so it sounds like that will work out well.

Looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

 

[amcjeep4life]

Today we were up at the crack of dawn. After all, that is how early you have to get up to do the Sunrise Safari! It was awesome! Simple words can not do any justice to the experience! We saw the baby giraffe, and actually waited for her to come right up to the vehicle. She was sooooo cute, and her and her mom just stood around for photo ops. It was unbelievable. I highly recomend that anyone staying concierge do this, and perhaps spring for concierge one night just to be able to do this. It was so wonderful, and I took over 125 photos of animals on the safari. The DH took over an hour of video, so that tells you how long you are out there. It was unbelievable, and I think the best event of the whole trip.

Anyway, breakfast is being served at Pizzafari temporarily while Tusker House in under renovations. We were told it was the same food, just eaten somewhere else. It was a buffet, and just for us. There were about 15 people on the safari, including a few younger children, one was about 3. I don't think he enjoyed the trip like the rest of us, what 3 year old wants to sit and look at animals for an hour, without moving or talking too loudly? Anyway, we ended up sitting with a family of four, with 2 boys, about 7 and 8 or so. They were very polite, and the youngest had tons of questions, since it was only their second day and evidently Emma was the first kid near his age he had a chance to talk to. Luckily, he was a bit of a daredevil, and Emma had him very excited to ride EE. His parents on the other hand looked a bit green. I think they were hoping Emma would make the ride sound terrible and he wouldn't want to ride it, but no such luck. We did bump into this family later, and the boy was very excited to tell Emma he rode and loved EE! Again, his dad wasn't so happy about it, but rode it and said he didn't like it. I guess the difference between 10 and 8 is that I sent her off to ride it alone, while me, the DH and Sam sat on what I foundly called "Pansy Rock." Think Pride Rock, but for wimps. But back to breakfast. The chef came out and explained all the food, and what was in it. It was nice to know just what you were getting. There were some similar foods between here and the Breakfastosaurus buffet, but there were many foods different and much better. They had the same cheesy hashbrown casserole with peppers and onions, and eggs, and bacon. But then they had a big platter of pineapple glazed ham, and sausage pieces with peppers and onions. The DH ate about half the ham that was out. It wasn't slices so much as chunks, and the glaze had lots of crushed pineapple in it, and the DH said it was awesome. The girls liked it too, but I personally prefer my ham to taste like ham, not dessert. The sausage was good, not breakfast sausage but more like sweet Italian. The peppers and onions seemed a bit too well done for me, I like my veggies a bit more crisp. But it was very good, a bit spicier than normal breakfast sausage. There was also a fritatta with veggies and potatoes in it, which was really yummy. I had seconds. There was a nice assortment of pastries and fresh fruit as well. Overall, it was a nice breakfast, very quiet. The servers were very nice, and brought us juice and sodas, and even refilled them without prompting. They kept telling us to take our time, no rush. And it really felt like we were the only ones there. It was very relaxing, no people pushing to get to the buffet and jostling to get the last piece of whatever. I actually felt bad, since there seemed to be a lot of food left over. This is definitely something I want to do again. And since the location of the buffet will be different, I will have to do it again to see if the food is different, or at least that's the excuse I'll give the DH!

Food: and one half
Service:
Yo-yo factor:

Total cost: well, it included the Sunrise Safari, so I din't really pay it just for food, but it was $220 for 4 Disney Adults.

 

[amcjeep4life]

Today was a down day for us, meaning no real park time. We did do the Sunrise Safari, so you need a park entrance for that, but then we spent the day at differnt resorts doing some fun stuff included in the premium plan. We went to Fort Widerness, where the girls went horseback riding, by themselves with 2 guides. The ride was about an hour long, and they really had fun. The DH and I sat under a tree and enjoyed an hour alone. I read my book and he read his Mopar Muscle magazine. When the girls got back, we hopped a bus and went to the waterfront portion of Fort Wilderness and rented 2 Searaycers. Sam found out she could drive the boat with an adult at 12, so needless to say she started arguing with Bill about who was driving. I told her if she wanted to ride with me, I'd let her drive the whole time. I really didn't want to do this, since I hate boats, but if I didn't go, both girls wouldn't be able to go. So off we went. 45 minutes later, I was arguing with the girl about payment, and finally gave up. She insisted that we had to pay, I told her it was included with our package, and she said that I was looking for preferential treatment. Needless to say, when I went to the desk at AKL to clear the charges out, I reported her attitude with relish! Anyway, today we thought we would try the Trail's End Buffet for lunch. All I can say is.........bluchh! Nothing was good, it was barely warm, and there was very little selection. Desserts were nearly impossible to find, and what little they had was nasty. There was pasta that was getting crusty, and some sauce that tasted like Hunts straight from the can. Fried chicken wings, not even other pieces, just wings. They were OK, but I hate fighting for that little bit of meat. The pizza looked like something frozen that my DH eats for luch when he's broke and can't afford real pizza. There were some potato wedges with onions and peppers, but when I ate them, they had some type of vinegary sauce on them and they were disgusting. We all pretty much ended up eating salad, since it was about the only decent looking thing on the buffet. The other thing that bugged me was that nothing was labeled as to what it was. I know pizza and wings are fairly obvious, but I could see tags on top of the buffet, it just looked like no one bothered to put them up. I finally found a tray of cornbread covered over with a cloth near the desserts. That was really good, and I was bummed I didn't find it sooner, although no one could find butter to put on it. I think they had some choclate chip cookies and brownies out too, but they were also covered with cloths and you really had to try to find them. Overall, it was pretty nasty, if not down right disgusting. Our server tried to save the meal by bringing us big pitchers of iced tea, but it just couldn't revive this drowning ship. He was a big fan of football, and didn't really have too much to say when he realized we weren't. Just sort of put the last nail in the coffin.

Food: and that's only for the cornbread!
Service: He tried, I give him credit. i think I was just too put off by the lousy food to give him the attention he needed from us to be nicer.
Yo-yo factor: HE*@ NO!

Total cost: $64.79