teacherlisa1978
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2007
This was my husband's first trip since childhood and my first in 10 years. We chose to stay at my childhood favorite resort-Port Orleans French Quarter and were excited to try the dining plan. Without it, we surely would not have been eating table service meals each day.
For breakfast each day we either grabbed something quick (fruit, muffin, beignets, etc...) from the POFQ Food court or snacked on a leftover table service dessert from the night before.
Saturday 8/18
We arrived around 6:30 and ate at the food court. I had the grilled chicken sandwich which was fine, nothing special, and DH had the chicken strips which he said were good. We took Mickey rice krispy treats to go for dessert and also bought our mugs at this time.
Sunday 8/19
Off to the Magic Kingdom. We ate an early lunch at Pecos Bill's. I had the cheeseburger and loved the grilled onions and mushrooms that came with it. I had the peanut butter mousse brownie which we took back to the room to eat later. DH had the pulled pork sandwich which he is still raving about, and also the brownie for dessert.
For dinner we ate at Tony's Town Square. I had the tomato mozzarella salad which was my best appetizer of the trip. Delicious! I was pleasantly surprised by the spaghetti and meatballs-I generally don't care for meatballs but these were very good. I had the tiramisu for dessert and loved it. DH also had the spaghetti which he thought was very good. His appetizer was the spinach artichoke dip which we liked so much we ordered it again later in the week. His dessert was the lemon walnut cake which he loved. We loved this meal!
Monday 8/20
At the Magic Kingdom again. Lunch at the Columbia Harbor House. DH got us a great table overlooking the riverboat, we were able to watch it come in and walk out of the restaurant right onto it after lunch, with no wait. I had the tuna sandwich which was good, and the clam chowder which needed pepper but was also good. DH had the fried fish/chicken/fries combo which he liked. We both had the apple crisp, again taking mine back to the hotel for later. We liked that it was fresh, not one of the pre-packaged desserts you usually get at CS meals.
We had dinner at the Crystal Palace. I liked the characters and had never been to a character meal before. DH didn't particularly care for that aspect of it! Dinner here took a long time, and we were eager to get back out into the park. I didn't like the buffet offerings with the exception of the peel and eat shrimp, which were good. DH thought dinner was good, he especially liked the kids' selections--maccaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets.
Tuesday 8/21
Off to Epcot today. We had planned to have lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land but were nowhere near there at lunch time. We grabbed lunch at the Electric Umbrella on the way out of the park for our afternoon break. We were really disappointed with the extremely slow service. DH's burger and fries were cold. I had the veggie wrap which was awful. Soggy, no flavor, and the red peppers made me sick. Definitely not recommended. We each had cheesecake for dessert which was the only part worthwhile.
For dinner we had 7:50 ADR's at the Rose and Crown Dining Room. We were pleasantly surprised to be seated outside and the server invited us to stay as long as we liked in order to catch Illuminations. Yes! That was our hope when we made the reservation. I had the potato leek soup for my appetizer and it was absolutely delicious. That and the cheesebread the server provided would have been more than enough for me. DH had the salad which was fine. I ordered the fish and chips for my entree but was so stuffed from my soup and bread I couldn't eat more than a few bites. The server packed it up for us and DH had some of it as a snack later that night in the hotel room. For his dinner he had steak which he enjoyed. We both ordered the berry scones for dessert and took them back to the room to have for breakfast the next morning-this worked really well! This was a great meal.
Wednesday 8/22
At the Studios today. With only 1 day here we sacrificed some park time for 2 table service meals. We had lunch at 11 at the Sci-Fi. This was my childhood favorite and I was not disappointed. DH told our server we wanted to make the 11:50 lights, motors, action show and she helped our meal go quickly (too quickly for me, but dh was happy!) to accomplish this. I had the spinach artichoke dip which I loved, and DH had the very delicious onion rings. I had the cheeseburger which was good but way too big. I liked the onions and mushrooms they added. My dessert was the cheesecake with "treats" which was fun and good. My DH had the turkey sandwich for lunch which he liked and loved the hot fudge sundae. He didn't eat it all (I asked him if he was feeling okay!) because he really wanted to make the show. We ran across the parks (not fun in 95 degrees on full stomachs) and made it to the show which he loved. I would have preferred more time to eat but oh well.
We had 5:30 ADRs at Hollywood and Vine for the Fantasmic Dinner package which we tried to cancel that morning but couldn't. After not liking the Crystal Palace buffet I was not looking forward to this, and we would have rather had more park time and gone to the later Fantasmic, as this was an EMH evening. Since we couldn't cancel we made the best of it. I didn't eat much at the buffet although it was tastier than the CP. I made do with a big green salad and some soft serve ice cream. DH loved the corn bread and carved meats. We stayed in the parks late this evening and snacked on a pretzel and Mickey bars.
Thursday 8/23
8:40 Reservations at Chef Mickey's this morning. We took a taxi from Port Orleans which picked us up promptly at 8:15 and we arrived early for breakfast. It cost under $15 and was well worth it for the much needed chance to sleep in. We had been at park opening every day previously. We both really liked this buffet and my DH loved the chocolate croissant. I liked the potatoes and cheesey eggs. Our server was great about letting us know when the characters were coming and keeping our juice re-filled. She even offered to take pictures for us. She went above and beyond.
After this we went to Animal Kingdom and snacked later in the afternoon on ice cream. This evening we took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat over to the Poly. We sat on the beach and had smoothies which watching the Electrical Water Pageant. We both loved this chance to relax. This will be a must do on our future trips. We got a pizza from the French Quarter food court when we got back and this became breakfast for the next 2 days, too! (nothing better than cold pizza for breakfast!)
Friday 8/24
Epcot again today. Rather than trying to fit in an early lunch at the park we decided to leave the park around noon and have a CS lunch back at the resort. This worked great. I had the spaghetti and a breadstick which were really good, and astrawberry cheesecake for dessert. DH had a cheeseburger and pecan pie for dessert. Pecan pie is his favorite and he was so excited about finding it! He loved it.
For dinner we had 7:00 ADR's at the San Angel Inn. This was the night of the worst rain/thunder/lightning storm I'd ever seen in my life. I've been to Florida several times in the past and seen the thunder and lightning but this was well beyond anything I'd seen. We arrived at Epcot as it sprinkled and worked our way around World Showcase starting at Canada. By the time we got to America it was a full blown storm and were drenched. We bought ponchos and all we could do was run from country to country, stopping in gift shops along the way each time to get a respite and wait for the lightning to stop long enough to make our way to the next country. My DH bought some kind of mint chocolate treat in Germany which he brought back to the hotel to have later. We finally made it to Mexico around 6:15, rode the ride there, and checked in for dinner. We got our table around 6:45 and had the best nachos of our lives. Yum! I had the shrimp pasta. The shrimp were great the pasta was okay-a bit over-cooked. I ate the shrimp and not much else. DH had the platter with steak, enchilada and taquito. He ate a few bites of each-we were both stuffed from the nachos. He really liked the chicken enchilada though. We both had the flan for dessert and liked how light it was after such heavy dinners. At this point the lightning had lessed and the rain was still coming down, but less heavy than before. We high-tailed it back to the bus to the French Quarter and had cocoa in our rooms while my husband snacked on his chocolate concoction.
Saturday 8/25
Our last day. DH was not feeling too good (too much chocolate perhaps?). I had the croissant breakfast sandwich at the food court which was good. Then off to the MK. After doing 2 rides DH felt awful and decided to go back to the room. We had arranged a late check out, thankfully. I stayed at the MK and had a great time using the fast passes we'd gotten for Splash Mountain. Then I made my way to Epcot. We hadn't gotten to spend as much time there as I had hoped because of the rain storm the previous night so I got to explore on my own time schedule. I did a snack tour through World Showcase, using our last CS meal on some fish and chips from England which I picked at (very good, but I didn't want to fill up!), and then sampled vanilla gelato in Italy (delicious!) and a rice cream in Norway. Also delicious! I remember these from my trips as a kid and was really excited they still had them. Yum!
Back to FQ where DH was feeling better. He used his last CS meal on a turkey sub and chips to go which he took with him on the plane. This worked really well, as it was a 5 hour flight with, of course, no meal service. I had my last Mickey bar of the trip and we left.
Overall, we ate wonderful meals on this trip. The DDP definitely saved us money in the fact that we ate at table service meals that cost over $80 sometimes. However, I don't know that it truly saved us any money because we certainly would not have been eating at this many table service meals without the plan. Would we do it again? Definitely because it allowed us to pre-pay for our meals which was wonderful. The only other change we would make it to do CHef Mickey's breakfast on our last day-it was tough getting to AK after it opened and skip the dinner buffets all together.
For breakfast each day we either grabbed something quick (fruit, muffin, beignets, etc...) from the POFQ Food court or snacked on a leftover table service dessert from the night before.
Saturday 8/18
We arrived around 6:30 and ate at the food court. I had the grilled chicken sandwich which was fine, nothing special, and DH had the chicken strips which he said were good. We took Mickey rice krispy treats to go for dessert and also bought our mugs at this time.
Sunday 8/19
Off to the Magic Kingdom. We ate an early lunch at Pecos Bill's. I had the cheeseburger and loved the grilled onions and mushrooms that came with it. I had the peanut butter mousse brownie which we took back to the room to eat later. DH had the pulled pork sandwich which he is still raving about, and also the brownie for dessert.
For dinner we ate at Tony's Town Square. I had the tomato mozzarella salad which was my best appetizer of the trip. Delicious! I was pleasantly surprised by the spaghetti and meatballs-I generally don't care for meatballs but these were very good. I had the tiramisu for dessert and loved it. DH also had the spaghetti which he thought was very good. His appetizer was the spinach artichoke dip which we liked so much we ordered it again later in the week. His dessert was the lemon walnut cake which he loved. We loved this meal!
Monday 8/20
At the Magic Kingdom again. Lunch at the Columbia Harbor House. DH got us a great table overlooking the riverboat, we were able to watch it come in and walk out of the restaurant right onto it after lunch, with no wait. I had the tuna sandwich which was good, and the clam chowder which needed pepper but was also good. DH had the fried fish/chicken/fries combo which he liked. We both had the apple crisp, again taking mine back to the hotel for later. We liked that it was fresh, not one of the pre-packaged desserts you usually get at CS meals.
We had dinner at the Crystal Palace. I liked the characters and had never been to a character meal before. DH didn't particularly care for that aspect of it! Dinner here took a long time, and we were eager to get back out into the park. I didn't like the buffet offerings with the exception of the peel and eat shrimp, which were good. DH thought dinner was good, he especially liked the kids' selections--maccaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets.
Tuesday 8/21
Off to Epcot today. We had planned to have lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land but were nowhere near there at lunch time. We grabbed lunch at the Electric Umbrella on the way out of the park for our afternoon break. We were really disappointed with the extremely slow service. DH's burger and fries were cold. I had the veggie wrap which was awful. Soggy, no flavor, and the red peppers made me sick. Definitely not recommended. We each had cheesecake for dessert which was the only part worthwhile.
For dinner we had 7:50 ADR's at the Rose and Crown Dining Room. We were pleasantly surprised to be seated outside and the server invited us to stay as long as we liked in order to catch Illuminations. Yes! That was our hope when we made the reservation. I had the potato leek soup for my appetizer and it was absolutely delicious. That and the cheesebread the server provided would have been more than enough for me. DH had the salad which was fine. I ordered the fish and chips for my entree but was so stuffed from my soup and bread I couldn't eat more than a few bites. The server packed it up for us and DH had some of it as a snack later that night in the hotel room. For his dinner he had steak which he enjoyed. We both ordered the berry scones for dessert and took them back to the room to have for breakfast the next morning-this worked really well! This was a great meal.
Wednesday 8/22
At the Studios today. With only 1 day here we sacrificed some park time for 2 table service meals. We had lunch at 11 at the Sci-Fi. This was my childhood favorite and I was not disappointed. DH told our server we wanted to make the 11:50 lights, motors, action show and she helped our meal go quickly (too quickly for me, but dh was happy!) to accomplish this. I had the spinach artichoke dip which I loved, and DH had the very delicious onion rings. I had the cheeseburger which was good but way too big. I liked the onions and mushrooms they added. My dessert was the cheesecake with "treats" which was fun and good. My DH had the turkey sandwich for lunch which he liked and loved the hot fudge sundae. He didn't eat it all (I asked him if he was feeling okay!) because he really wanted to make the show. We ran across the parks (not fun in 95 degrees on full stomachs) and made it to the show which he loved. I would have preferred more time to eat but oh well.
We had 5:30 ADRs at Hollywood and Vine for the Fantasmic Dinner package which we tried to cancel that morning but couldn't. After not liking the Crystal Palace buffet I was not looking forward to this, and we would have rather had more park time and gone to the later Fantasmic, as this was an EMH evening. Since we couldn't cancel we made the best of it. I didn't eat much at the buffet although it was tastier than the CP. I made do with a big green salad and some soft serve ice cream. DH loved the corn bread and carved meats. We stayed in the parks late this evening and snacked on a pretzel and Mickey bars.
Thursday 8/23
8:40 Reservations at Chef Mickey's this morning. We took a taxi from Port Orleans which picked us up promptly at 8:15 and we arrived early for breakfast. It cost under $15 and was well worth it for the much needed chance to sleep in. We had been at park opening every day previously. We both really liked this buffet and my DH loved the chocolate croissant. I liked the potatoes and cheesey eggs. Our server was great about letting us know when the characters were coming and keeping our juice re-filled. She even offered to take pictures for us. She went above and beyond.
After this we went to Animal Kingdom and snacked later in the afternoon on ice cream. This evening we took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat over to the Poly. We sat on the beach and had smoothies which watching the Electrical Water Pageant. We both loved this chance to relax. This will be a must do on our future trips. We got a pizza from the French Quarter food court when we got back and this became breakfast for the next 2 days, too! (nothing better than cold pizza for breakfast!)
Friday 8/24
Epcot again today. Rather than trying to fit in an early lunch at the park we decided to leave the park around noon and have a CS lunch back at the resort. This worked great. I had the spaghetti and a breadstick which were really good, and astrawberry cheesecake for dessert. DH had a cheeseburger and pecan pie for dessert. Pecan pie is his favorite and he was so excited about finding it! He loved it.
For dinner we had 7:00 ADR's at the San Angel Inn. This was the night of the worst rain/thunder/lightning storm I'd ever seen in my life. I've been to Florida several times in the past and seen the thunder and lightning but this was well beyond anything I'd seen. We arrived at Epcot as it sprinkled and worked our way around World Showcase starting at Canada. By the time we got to America it was a full blown storm and were drenched. We bought ponchos and all we could do was run from country to country, stopping in gift shops along the way each time to get a respite and wait for the lightning to stop long enough to make our way to the next country. My DH bought some kind of mint chocolate treat in Germany which he brought back to the hotel to have later. We finally made it to Mexico around 6:15, rode the ride there, and checked in for dinner. We got our table around 6:45 and had the best nachos of our lives. Yum! I had the shrimp pasta. The shrimp were great the pasta was okay-a bit over-cooked. I ate the shrimp and not much else. DH had the platter with steak, enchilada and taquito. He ate a few bites of each-we were both stuffed from the nachos. He really liked the chicken enchilada though. We both had the flan for dessert and liked how light it was after such heavy dinners. At this point the lightning had lessed and the rain was still coming down, but less heavy than before. We high-tailed it back to the bus to the French Quarter and had cocoa in our rooms while my husband snacked on his chocolate concoction.
Saturday 8/25
Our last day. DH was not feeling too good (too much chocolate perhaps?). I had the croissant breakfast sandwich at the food court which was good. Then off to the MK. After doing 2 rides DH felt awful and decided to go back to the room. We had arranged a late check out, thankfully. I stayed at the MK and had a great time using the fast passes we'd gotten for Splash Mountain. Then I made my way to Epcot. We hadn't gotten to spend as much time there as I had hoped because of the rain storm the previous night so I got to explore on my own time schedule. I did a snack tour through World Showcase, using our last CS meal on some fish and chips from England which I picked at (very good, but I didn't want to fill up!), and then sampled vanilla gelato in Italy (delicious!) and a rice cream in Norway. Also delicious! I remember these from my trips as a kid and was really excited they still had them. Yum!
Back to FQ where DH was feeling better. He used his last CS meal on a turkey sub and chips to go which he took with him on the plane. This worked really well, as it was a 5 hour flight with, of course, no meal service. I had my last Mickey bar of the trip and we left.
Overall, we ate wonderful meals on this trip. The DDP definitely saved us money in the fact that we ate at table service meals that cost over $80 sometimes. However, I don't know that it truly saved us any money because we certainly would not have been eating at this many table service meals without the plan. Would we do it again? Definitely because it allowed us to pre-pay for our meals which was wonderful. The only other change we would make it to do CHef Mickey's breakfast on our last day-it was tough getting to AK after it opened and skip the dinner buffets all together.
