We left the kids behind on this 4 night trip & tried out the new Deluxe Dining Plan. We loved it! We did space it out & had an early lunch at a TS restaurant and a late dinner at a signature restaurant. We enjoyed this plan so much, I think we'll use it again on our next trip w/ the kids. Here are our reviews:
Day 1
Ate early lunch at Teppan Edo. I had the Tempura appy & DH had Miso soup. For entrees, I had the steak & shrimp & DH had the filet. The desserts here aren't that fancy, I had a simple soft serve chocolate ice cream & DH had green tea pudding. The green tea pudding looked a little like flan, but it tasted ok, probably wouldn't order this one again. Other than the one dessert, food & service were very good!
Dinner at Narcoossees. This is one of my favorites since I Love lobster! I had the crab cake appy & DH had the tuna tar tar. For entrees, I had surf & turf & DH had the scallops. I was a little dissapointed w/ the lobster, parts of it were cooked well, but some of it was a little on the mushy side. I ate it & didn't get sick, but it tasted as though part of it wasn't cooked all the way through. The steak was fabulous as well as my DH scallops. Dh was a bit dissaponted w/ dessert - he likes to get the artisan cheeses since he's really not a sweets person, well they told him NO, they have excluded it from the dessert menu for DxDP & it is only available as an appy, he was not very happy & I think he just got a cheesecake. I had the chocolate gateau like always & enjoyed it very much!
Day 2
Lunch at Yak & Yeti. This was a first time for us, when we sat down the waiter took DH dining card & he kept it till the end of the meal - I thought this to be odd, but I think this restaurant has some kinks to work out in their service department since it is new. The food was fantastic & we will definitely be back on our next trip. We asked the waiter if there were any exclusions & he said no. For appys I had the wok fried green beans & DH had the dim sum basket. The green beans were similar to the ones they serve at Fridays, but the sauce was much better! I ate some of DH appy & it was good, but I liked mine better! For entrees I had the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp & DH had the Miso Salmon. Salmon was good, but my steak & shrimp were delicious, DH ate some & wished he would have ordered this one! Problems with the meal came when we recieved the bill. DH had a beer & we were told that they did not accept the DDE card, no problem. I had a hot tea & it was on the same bill w/ the beer & the waiter told me that hot tea wasn't included in the beverages, only soda. Needless to say I got the manager to remove the tea from the bill. Next we receive a bill with all zeros & the waiter told us that we spent around $75 & we should tip on that amount. I asked for the receipt w/ the actual amounts & I was told they don't do that since they are not a Disney owned restaurant. The server received a smaller than average tip. Food was great & we will be back, but are more prepared for the next time around. Disney should really have a system in place to keep things more uniform, especially at restaurants.
Dinner at Jiko. This was the best meal of the trip! DH & I shared appys, we had the taste of Africa & Ahi seared tuna. For entrees I had the Filet w/ mac & cheese & this was "heaven on a plate!" DH had the Kenyan Coffee BBQ-Braised Beef Short Rib & he said it was very good. I didn't try any of his dish, but when he was finished all was left on his plate was a bone, so I'd say he enjoyed it!
I had the pistachio creme brulee & this was the best dessert of the trip! DH was able to order his cheese for dessert & was very happy. We've come to find out that for some reason you can have the cheese for dessert at every signature restaurant other than Narcoossees 
Day 3
Lunch at Tokyo Dining. Very nice restaurant & very authentic. DH has been to Japan several times & said it was very similar to some of the places he has visited. Only problem I had w/ this restaurant was that they only offered 2 different sushi entrees (in addition to the regular menu) & all other sushi rolls were "alla cart." DH loves all sushi, so he had the deluxe sushi platter & miso soup for his appy. I had the Tempura appy & Roppong (which is shrimp & scallops tempura style) for my entree. Portions were very big & I couldn't finish my entree. DH finished his & what I couldn't eat from mine. This restaurant has the same bland dessert menu as Teppan Edo, so once again I got the soft serve chocolate & DH had the chocolate ginger cake, he said it was ok. Food was very good here, but next time I come here I will use my DDE card & order the sushi rolls I like alla cart instead of being restricted to the menu for DDP. Service was excellent.
Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. Food was good here, I had the shrimp appy that was amazing & the strip steak. DH had the diver scallops & the porterhouse. For dessert I had the creme brulee, which was very good & once again DH had his cheese! We left very full! Both food & service were good, but nothing over the top as we experienced at Jiko or California Grill.
Day 4
Woke up early & did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. Tour was great & lunch is included at the Columbia Harbour House. I had chicken Fingers & fries & DH had the tuna sandwhich. I was getting so accustomed to eating good food at every meal, that this counter service really turned my stomach! There was nothing wrong with what I had except that it was cheap fried food. I'm not a big fan of counter service & I think that's why the DXDP sounded so appealing to me. DH said his sandwich was good.
Dinner at California Grill. This meal was a very close second to Jiko! I had the california rolls for appy & the fillet for an entree - both were amazing! The fillet melted in your mouth! DH had sashimi for appy & the deluxe sushi platter as an entree - his was fantastic as well. DH had the Butterscoth Buzz for dessert & I had some sort of chocolate dessert that was very good!
Our last two credits were spent of room service the next morning, we shared a breakfast before our flight. Not a great use of credits, but we didn't feel like going out to breakfast. Plan cost around $560 & we spent $850 on just meals alone, not counting snacks & refillable mugs. Great deal!!
Day 1
Ate early lunch at Teppan Edo. I had the Tempura appy & DH had Miso soup. For entrees, I had the steak & shrimp & DH had the filet. The desserts here aren't that fancy, I had a simple soft serve chocolate ice cream & DH had green tea pudding. The green tea pudding looked a little like flan, but it tasted ok, probably wouldn't order this one again. Other than the one dessert, food & service were very good!
Dinner at Narcoossees. This is one of my favorites since I Love lobster! I had the crab cake appy & DH had the tuna tar tar. For entrees, I had surf & turf & DH had the scallops. I was a little dissapointed w/ the lobster, parts of it were cooked well, but some of it was a little on the mushy side. I ate it & didn't get sick, but it tasted as though part of it wasn't cooked all the way through. The steak was fabulous as well as my DH scallops. Dh was a bit dissaponted w/ dessert - he likes to get the artisan cheeses since he's really not a sweets person, well they told him NO, they have excluded it from the dessert menu for DxDP & it is only available as an appy, he was not very happy & I think he just got a cheesecake. I had the chocolate gateau like always & enjoyed it very much!
Day 2
Lunch at Yak & Yeti. This was a first time for us, when we sat down the waiter took DH dining card & he kept it till the end of the meal - I thought this to be odd, but I think this restaurant has some kinks to work out in their service department since it is new. The food was fantastic & we will definitely be back on our next trip. We asked the waiter if there were any exclusions & he said no. For appys I had the wok fried green beans & DH had the dim sum basket. The green beans were similar to the ones they serve at Fridays, but the sauce was much better! I ate some of DH appy & it was good, but I liked mine better! For entrees I had the Shaoxing Steak and Shrimp & DH had the Miso Salmon. Salmon was good, but my steak & shrimp were delicious, DH ate some & wished he would have ordered this one! Problems with the meal came when we recieved the bill. DH had a beer & we were told that they did not accept the DDE card, no problem. I had a hot tea & it was on the same bill w/ the beer & the waiter told me that hot tea wasn't included in the beverages, only soda. Needless to say I got the manager to remove the tea from the bill. Next we receive a bill with all zeros & the waiter told us that we spent around $75 & we should tip on that amount. I asked for the receipt w/ the actual amounts & I was told they don't do that since they are not a Disney owned restaurant. The server received a smaller than average tip. Food was great & we will be back, but are more prepared for the next time around. Disney should really have a system in place to keep things more uniform, especially at restaurants.
Dinner at Jiko. This was the best meal of the trip! DH & I shared appys, we had the taste of Africa & Ahi seared tuna. For entrees I had the Filet w/ mac & cheese & this was "heaven on a plate!" DH had the Kenyan Coffee BBQ-Braised Beef Short Rib & he said it was very good. I didn't try any of his dish, but when he was finished all was left on his plate was a bone, so I'd say he enjoyed it!
I had the pistachio creme brulee & this was the best dessert of the trip! DH was able to order his cheese for dessert & was very happy. We've come to find out that for some reason you can have the cheese for dessert at every signature restaurant other than Narcoossees Day 3
Lunch at Tokyo Dining. Very nice restaurant & very authentic. DH has been to Japan several times & said it was very similar to some of the places he has visited. Only problem I had w/ this restaurant was that they only offered 2 different sushi entrees (in addition to the regular menu) & all other sushi rolls were "alla cart." DH loves all sushi, so he had the deluxe sushi platter & miso soup for his appy. I had the Tempura appy & Roppong (which is shrimp & scallops tempura style) for my entree. Portions were very big & I couldn't finish my entree. DH finished his & what I couldn't eat from mine. This restaurant has the same bland dessert menu as Teppan Edo, so once again I got the soft serve chocolate & DH had the chocolate ginger cake, he said it was ok. Food was very good here, but next time I come here I will use my DDE card & order the sushi rolls I like alla cart instead of being restricted to the menu for DDP. Service was excellent.
Dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse. Food was good here, I had the shrimp appy that was amazing & the strip steak. DH had the diver scallops & the porterhouse. For dessert I had the creme brulee, which was very good & once again DH had his cheese! We left very full! Both food & service were good, but nothing over the top as we experienced at Jiko or California Grill.
Day 4
Woke up early & did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. Tour was great & lunch is included at the Columbia Harbour House. I had chicken Fingers & fries & DH had the tuna sandwhich. I was getting so accustomed to eating good food at every meal, that this counter service really turned my stomach! There was nothing wrong with what I had except that it was cheap fried food. I'm not a big fan of counter service & I think that's why the DXDP sounded so appealing to me. DH said his sandwich was good.
Dinner at California Grill. This meal was a very close second to Jiko! I had the california rolls for appy & the fillet for an entree - both were amazing! The fillet melted in your mouth! DH had sashimi for appy & the deluxe sushi platter as an entree - his was fantastic as well. DH had the Butterscoth Buzz for dessert & I had some sort of chocolate dessert that was very good!
Our last two credits were spent of room service the next morning, we shared a breakfast before our flight. Not a great use of credits, but we didn't feel like going out to breakfast. Plan cost around $560 & we spent $850 on just meals alone, not counting snacks & refillable mugs. Great deal!!
I'd like to try the DxDDP but until we can go with out the kids, we probably won't get to do signature dining every day of the trip 
Called TA and asked them to add it. Now I am looking at all the posts with the Deluxe Dining Plan mentioned just more time for me to spend on the Disboards.
