Deluxe Dining with a 5 and 7 year old!

[mb_uh]

Introduction

My family loves to eat out and since my husband and I work full time the kids have learned to eat since they were born (It is our tradition to go out when they are 3 days old, last had to wait until he was 7 days old because he was in the NICU).

Me (Misty)- 32 Education Adminstrator
DH (Michael)- 41 Prison Food Service Sergeant
Princess (Morgan) 5
Pirate (Matthew) 7
Baby (Micah) Stayed at home with Grandma.

We are not big eaters even if we are Pooh sized and normally share meals. Kids do not like traditional food like burgers and fries so we figured deluxe was the way to go.

First Night 7/21/10

Dinner- O'hana

7/22/10
Breakfast-Snacks
Lunch-Sci Fi
Dinner- Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package)

7/23/10

Breakfast- Tusker House
Lunch- Yak & Yeti
Dinner- Hoop De Doo Review

07/24/10 11th Anniversary

Breakfast- Norway Princess
Lunch- Le Cellier
Dinner (sans children)- Flying Fish

07/25/10

Breakfast- Crystal Palace
Lunch- Liberty Tree Tavern
Dinner- Cinderella's Royal Table

Bonus meals

Chef de France Lunch

 

[CJ]

Looking forward to hearing your reviews!

 

[mb_uh]

Well this was arrival day and as usual nothing went as planned. I had rearranged ADRs so many times that when we changed the date of trip to get a better deal on AirTran the best time I could get was 5:15. Since we were flying in at 3 I was was worried. After ME, checking in and picking up a rental at the Double Tree we arrived at the Polynesian at 6:45, praying they would show pity on us.

The CM did not make any comments about how late we were and said that it would be a small wait- less then 30 minutes later we were seated I considered this pixie dust because we were really looking forward to this meal. My husband did not know anything about it and was surprised when we were seated and I told him there was no menu.

Our waiter quickly brought out salad which had a light dressing and was very good. Bread which the kids ate almost all of and soft drinks.




The kids loved the games and music and DH enjoyed them going to play. We then got wings with 3 sauces which were great, plus potstickers.

Then they started with the meat- shrimp (the kids filled up), Pork and Chicken that DH loved, and Steak that I adored. They also brought at noodles and brochili that were just okay.

Then dessert which I love. The kids do not like bread pudding so they got ice cream with mickey sprinkles. We had the wonderful bread pudding and for our Anniversary we got a large cupcake- which the kids devoured


We will definately make this a must do for return visits.

Deluxe Dining 4 credits
Bill about 110 before tip.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Looking forward to your other reports. We love 'Ohana too! 'Ohana was the first TS meal DH and I ever had at WDW! Loved it in 2006 and loved it in 2010 though I have to admit it was A LOT of food!

 

[mb_uh]

My son has some sensory issues- he does not like loud noises and get scared by things that do not bother most children so I was a little worried if the movies here would be a problem. Also we had a super early Fantasmic Package at Brown Derby so we did not want to get stuffed at lunch. None the less we had to try this restaurant.

We got there just a few minutes after our ADR ( a new habit for people who even after 3 kids are normally excessively punctual). We were seated in 5-10 minutes. Our waitress was very pleasant. Since we usually share entrees when can not have to go boxes and my kids are hit or miss at eating we decided to just use 2 meals. On the deluxe that includes appetizers.

I asked if we could have the double dip for 2 and the waitress said no problem. I did not realize that she would give us each one.
My kids love artichoke dip and this was no exception. The chili was just okay but DH liked it and I ordered it for him. Being half Hispanic and I used to making my own much spicer so I am a little biased.

Michael and my son shared the rib and had a coke and chocolate milk shake that they really enjoyed.

Me and our daughter shared the Shrimp Pasta (her choice). I separated all the Shrimp, Pasta, and Artichokes on the mickey plate the waitress brought for her. She loved it. I thought it was pretty good but could use more sauce. We had tons of shrimp left over. We also had a strawberry milkshake. that she drank most of.

No pics of dessert but the boys had the cheesecake and we had the sundae. The kids loved the popcorn and candy that came with the cheesecake and both ate some of the icecream as well. DH said the cheesecake was good and so did my son who at 7 loves cheesecake

We used 2 credits and they did not charge us for kids drinks even though I planned on paying for them.

The bill was 98.73

Overall the meal is high for the quality of the food but it is fun, the kids loved it and we probably would return.

 

[mb_uh]

We knew we had to do Fantasmic and being with 2 impatient children I figured the only way possible was do a dinner package. I normally don't consider dinner to be 3:35 but that was the only ADR left when I called since we had changed our dates and I wanted to go early in our trip incase we got rained out that we would have another chance.

As usual (and slightly on purpose this time) we were a few minutes late. They seated us quickly and our waitress was very pleasant. She offered us champagne for our anniversary but DH declined since he does not drink I personally would have liked to drink both, but oh well.

On the package everyone gets appetizer, entree, dessert, regardless of meal plan.

We had soft drinks as usual.

DH wanted the Cobb Salad without eggs but kept the avocado (which he does not like) since it was signature dish.

I went with the Baby Field Greens.

Matthew opted for carrots and celery and Morgan Chicken Noodle Soup.

DH thought his salad was okay, weird texture, he was glad he tried it but would not order it again. My salad seriously needed more dressing. I ate the cheese and nuts a few greens but left most of it. Our waitress offered to bring me something else but I was fine. Matthew was happy and ate most of his which is a shock because he is not much for vegetables and Morgan was irritated her soup had so many carrots, celery and onions. It actually was the best appetizer on the table so I ate some of it and my strange child ate the Cobb salad instead.

For our entrees I chose the steak with polenta. DH chose the porkchop. Matthew had a hotdog with chips, and Morgan had the grilled cheese (only served on wheat) with chips as well. I was worried she would not like the wheat bread but she was fine with it.



The steak and polenta were good but the relish and sauces were really not that great. Same with the Porkchop, it was good but the cabbage and potatoes were mostly sent back. It also took forever for our entrees to come out and the kids became very restless. They did like the simple kids meals (not worth 2 credits).

For dessert DH ordered the Grapefruit Cake (he is not fond of Grapefruit but it was the signature dessert). I was very torn but with the Carmel Parfait. Both kids opted for the Hidden treasures.
.

As expected the Grapefruit cake was too grapefruity for DH and he quickly asked me to switch which I did. It was again just okay. Our waitress offered to bring something else but we declined since we knew we might not like it but had to try it. The caramel was very good but a little small. The kids liked theirs but were pretty full and only ate the cookie and candy and left most of the ice cream.

She brought the phone so Mickey could wish us a Happy Anniversary which the kids thought was so neat.

This was our longest meal probably more then 2 hours most of that waiting on courses.

Overall the service was good but the food was not really Signature. I think next time we will try a 1 credit restaurant.

However, the Fantasmic package was great. Fanatsmic was standing room only 75 minutes before it started so had we not done the dinner we would not had seen the show and it was a highlight of the trip especially for our son (who were were worried about because it was scary but he loved it).

8 Credits for the meal I chose to use 6 credits and pay for one kids meal to save the credits since it was not worth 2 apiece.

$125.00 before tip for 4 $113 for 3.

 

[diamondpixienc]

Wow those pics look great!

 

[mb_uh]

I snagged an 8:00 ADR so we were set before the Park opened at 9AM.

We actually arrived on time, we got great parking and waited a few minutes at the front gate to be let in to the park. We walked to the back where the restaurant was got checked in and took our picture with Donald. We then were seated and brought the wonderful juice-orange,guava, something else. Matthew wanted milk but he said he would drink the juice and would have milk after. I immediately got coffee and we were off to the buffet.

The spread was great- traditional pastries, fruit, cereal. My husband was happy because they had biscuits and gravy his favorite. They also had special frittatas and African breads, rice and other unique dishes.



I tried the cheese blintzes, mickey waffles and ham, plus lots of other goodies. Everything was wonderful. The kids really liked the mickey waffles and lots of scrambled eggs and fruit.


Daisy, Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy all came around and visited our table after we eaten about half of our breakfast and the kids joined in a parade or other silly game. We bought the $30 picture package which they will sent to your resort if you staying on property since we were traveling light and we managed to get out to the park before rope drop.

It was great breakfast and very efficient. If possible I plan to do this everytime we visit. We were able to walk right on to Everest and already had a fast pass for the Safari right after rope drop. The key is to be early so that you can eat before the characters start coming.

4 Credits
$83.03 before tip
$30 for picture package

 

[mb_uh]

You would not believe that after Tusker House we would be hungry but the kids were so we headed on time for our 1pm ADR. We were quickly seated.

As usual for us we split 2 adult meals.

We ordered the Dim Sum for 2 as the appetizer.


DH was only interested in the Potstickers which were good and Matthew did not like any of it. Morgan shared the rest with me (and ate most of it) Overall, it was not that great and I wished we had just got 2 orders of pot stickers.

Entrees Morgan and I shared the Shrimp and Steak and paid extra for fried rice. Steak was wonderful, Morgan ate almost all the shrimp, rice was just okay. DH wanted the burger but he thought Matthew would like Chicken (not sure which but it was not fried, maybe bourbon). Neither really liked it. Matthew ate the rice and some of my shrimp and steak.

For dessert the boys had cheese cake and I ordered the wontons.

The kids ate the fruit and ice cream and I ate the wontons. It was not as great as others had described it. Cheesecake was pretty good.

2 credits plus 2 drinks and fried rice

Lost receipt but it was about $80 before the tip.

I doubt we will bother again. It was nice to get out the heat and normally we really like Asian food but there is so much better food in the world this was just not worth it.

Service was good.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

great reviews, I liked HBD - didn't love it but would go again.

We try Sci-fi for the first time in october and can't wait. Great reviews and pictures.

 

[mb_uh]

DH orginally wanted to do the Luau but I had read so many bad reviews that I felt this would be a safter bet.

We had forgotten how early you were supposed to be and I was worried because I read about a family that had to wait because they showed up just in time. So DH went to the conceirge. This had good points and bad. We orginally had the reservation including a baby. But for some reason DH did not bother to tell the conceirge the baby was not with us. Evidently they can check you in and give you your tickets. They did this and convinced DH to use transportation instead of driving.

Well 2 things went wrong with all of this.

The concierge did not pay attention to the fact that it was 2adults and 2 kids and 1 infant and charged our meal plan for 3 kids or 10 total credits. Then they did not give us the receipt showing this so I did not find out until the next day at EPCOT. DH did not know to ask either.

They sent us to bus to MK boat over. We waited forever for the boat, if we had not ran to catch the MK bus we would have probably missed dinner. After the show the buses were waiting and it was easy but It would have been easier to just drive in my opinion.

We arrived just a few minutes before starting and were put in a long line. We waited for a few minutes and after 7:30 we were seated. Our table already had cornbread and butter- which was wonderful and we quickly got drinks and salad. Despite bad reviews I had the Sangria which was fine and DH had beer both are included in the meals the kids had sodas.


The salad has a light vinegratte dressing and was refreshing after being in the heat. Morgan liked it but Matthew skipped it since he does not like salad.

The show started and was very slapstick humor. The kids really liked it. after a few minutes they took an intermission and delivered fried chicken, ribs, beans, and mashed potatoes.


The kids decided that all they wanted was chicken. Neither like mashed potatoes and Matthew does not like beans but I was surprised they skipped the ribs which they normally like. I did not figure this was a battle worth fighting so they ate chicken. DH and I enjoyed everything. The chicken was crispy, ribs had lots of sauce (which I like) and everything tasted fresh. Our waitress brought us refills on drinks quickly. We were offered more food but we had left overs of everything. I think the only complaint we had was that a lot of food was wasted.

After more of the show we got 2 bowls of Strawberry shortcake and extra plates.
The kids really like the dessert and we also enjoyed it.

Overall the food was really good and the show was fun. I am not sure this was a must do again since we would like to see the other shows but the kids really loved it and would love to go again.

Supposed to be 8 credits
$181 for level 2 includes gratuity

 

[mb_uh]

This again was a breakfast before the park opened. We arrived early, waited a few minutes and managed to be the 2nd in line for the restaurant only because the party in front of decided to run all they way to Norway (we were at Epcot first).

We were brought in, had our picture with Belle which is included and seated very quickly. The waiter brought us drink and we helped ourselves to the cold buffet. This is an interesting assortment. cereal, strawberry yougart, berries, fruit, lox, cheese, salmon, danishes, bagels.

The kids loved the fruit and berries. Very quickly we had coffee, juice and a hot plate of bacon, eggs, potato cassorole and sausages.

Everything was very delicious but I did not get pictures- other then of the princesses which I will spare you .

Since we were so early the kids were almost finished eating when Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow white came around for pictures and autographs. We had great character interaction but since my kids are not character hogs were able to get out of there quickly. We still had 10 minutes until rope drop and were able to walk back to Mission Space. We actually got a fast pass before anyone else was in the park- then headed over to Soarin.

We will definately do this breakfast again. Food was good, characters were great and being finished before the park opens is worth the price.

4 credits
$120 before tip but included the picture package even on dining plan.

 

[mb_uh]

Until joining DIS I had never heard of Le Cellier and after joining that seemed like all I ever heard of.

So of course we had to eat there. I review my plans several times and realized that lunch would work best and since we were not going during FD and I had planned 180 days out I easily got an ADR.

We arrived a few minutes late (5-10) but were seated very quickly. We decided to skip the smoothies even though they offered them on the dining plan and stuck with cokes and tea.

The highly acclaimed bread arrived quickly. I resisted the suggestion to just order Pretzel bread so DH could try all of them. Our waitress did tell us that she would bring more of whatever we wanted.

We both went with the Cheese Soup Appetizer which I figured the kids would eat as well. They were still stuck on having pretzels for lunch and skipped the soup. We enjoyed it but I think I was expecting more since we hear so much about it here.


By this point in the trip the kids wanted in on the photos so we have pictures of half eaten bread.

For our entrees I ordered the Filet and DH went with the Strip. The kids love steak and were excited to try some of each. We decided to get a side order of mac and cheese for them incase they did not like our sides.


The waitress warned me that it was different but since my kids loved parmesean baked mac and cheese at a local restaraunt I thought they would love it. They did not. Trying to be a good mom I decided to try it to see if they were being a pain or if it was not good. I did not like it at all either and I would not eat it. The waitress brought out some mashed potatoes which can be hit or miss with my kids but these were EXCELLANT, we all ate some. The steaks were wonderful. However, one of the best things I ate while at disney was my risotto. I would have been happy with just it.

For dessert we had to have the mousse and of course the maple creme brulee.


Both were great and enjoyed by all. If you have not figured it out yet not matter where we go or what we eat we eat family style

2 credits plus a side

$85 before tip and extras.

This was a great meal and we definately will make it a must do!

 

[vinotinto]

Awesome reviews! We also will have the DxDP and my kids are 5 and a just-turned 3-year old. It's nice to see that you shared many of your meals with your kids, since there's always so much criticism about DxDP being too much food. Did anyone give you any hassles about sharing? We are planning to share at Yak and Yeti and, possibly, Liberty Tree Tavern.

Also, was it difficult to get the two credits for the missing infant at HDDR back into your DxDP account?

Can't wait to read the rest of the reviews, the "bonus meals" (whatever that is) and the snacks.

 

[mb_uh]

We left the kids at the Sand Castle Club for the evening and headed over to the boardwalk fortunately in our car.

We were a little early but they seated us right away. We got the special menus with Happy Anniversary on them.

DH ordered the ceasar salad (he does not like shellfish) and I got the cheese plate.



He liked the salad and ate all of it. I really enjoyed the cheese and raisan toast it came with.

For dinner I chose the Snapper and he chose the strip.



His steak was wonderful and he really enjoyed it. The snapper itself was kind of bland. The leek fondue and sauce however where to die for. Honestly, if we returned I think I would be happy with the leeks and some risotto instead of a fish/meat entree. I ate all the leeks and a few bites of the snapper.

For dessert DH ordered the banana napolean and I got the peach trio.



The desserts were beautiful. The napolean was small. I really did not care for the peach trio. I ate some of it but really wish I had selected something else. We had much better desserts at 1 credit places.

Overall the quaility of the food here is really good. If you are looking for excellant desserts I would go somewhere else. Since it is a 2 credit and very expensive I doubt we will return because we liked California Grill (which we did on our last trip) much better and we would like to try other Signature restaurants.

4 Credits
Cost was $160 for the 2 of us before tip.

 

[mb_uh]

No place gave us any trouble about sharing, most places gave us free soft drinks (which we never asked for) and always brought mickey plates for the kids.

I went to the concierge desk to see if they could fix the credit issue. She not only gave us the 2 meal credits back but gave us 2 extra for our trouble which was really great.

 

[Disney owl]

great reports thanks

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

joining in and great review. I'm so glad to read a DxDDP with kids. We are trying DxDDP for our upcoming trip with our 5yr son (he doesn't like typical kids food either). He is used to eating out.

 

[tinacaplan]

Joining in, too. We're bringing out son down for the first time in February and decided to do the DxDDP. By the time I factored in my son's need for a daily breakfast, as well as all the character meals we want to go to, it actually makes sense. We end paying quite a bit OOP otherwise and we like the convenience of the plan.

 

[mb_uh]

The kids need for a real breakfast and since we wanted to do character meals helped make Deluxe make sense for us.

This was a crazy day. We overslept- DH forgot to set alarm then forgot you have to take the monorail to MK from parking so we arrived for our 8:05 reservation closer to 8:30. We were seated in about 10 minutes, but we had already missed Eeyore so it meant lots of waiting.

The buffet was excellant. You can request blueberry or chocolate chip mickey pancakes, made to order omelets. There is plenty of mickey waffles, eggs, fruit, bacon, sausage, plus donuts and the special Pooh french toast.

The kids ate lots of berries and fruit. The decor is beautiful and my omelet was perfect.

Character interaction was great with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.

The kids loved the food and they sprinkled confetti on the table for our anniversary and brought us a card autographed by the characters.

4 meal credits
About $80-90 with no picture to buy

Definately will return- hopefully on time