tiggrsbride
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2004
- Messages
- 244
Saturday, December 22nd
Today we began the day with 2 Croissants and coffees from Kona Coffee Bar, for a total OOP cost of $9. We headed to MK for the morning. Lunchtime rolled around and we were decided to try Pinocchios for the first time. I ordered Italian Wedding Soup and we shared 2 orders of Figaro Fries. The soup was fine. It was hot, which felt great on a cool day. The Figaro Fries were yummy! The fries are covered with cheese sauce, bacon bits, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and ranch dressing. They got nice and soggy, which was wonderful for me to eat. We will definitely try these again! This $9 bill was covered by 3 snack credits. DH tried a Turkey and Cheese Panini on whole grain bread, with Strawberry Cheesecake and Diet Coke. He thought his sandwich was good, enjoyed the Figaro Fries, and gave me his cheesecake, which was edible, but nothing exciting. DS and DD both had Chicken Strips and Fries, with a Canoli, Vanilla Shake, and 2 Sodas. They like the Disney Strips, but didnt love the Figaro Fries. I think they were too healthy for them! The total came to $40, and we used 3 CS credits.
Dinner was initially scheduled for Tutto Italia, but the family decided that they would rather go back to Biergarten. Concierge switched our ADR, and we were happy. We arrived at Biergarten before our time, and waited for about 15 minutes to be seated. Our server was Regina, and she was very sweet. We sat with two retired couples from the Orlando area. We chatted a bit, and then got to the buffet. The food was great! I tried Macaroni Salad, Sausages with Sauerkraut, hot German Potato Salad, Pork Schnitzel with Hunter Sauce, Pretzel Bread, Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce, Black Forest Cake and hot tea and Coke. I loved everything, except for the Black Forest Cake. DH sampled the Sausages, Schnitzel, Roast Pork, Sauerbraten, hot Potato Salad, Spatzle, Pretzel Bread, and skipped dessert for Schnitzel. He had a non-alcoholic Becks with dinner. DS ate Sausages, Pork Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Beef Liver, Pretzel Bread and doused everything in Hunter Sauce. He drank a few Cokes while doing damage to the buffet. He skipped dessert in lieu of more Schnitzel! He was one happy camper! DD had Sausages, Schnitzel and Hunter Sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, Roast Chicken, Apple Strudel, Vanilla Pudding and Hot Tea. We enjoyed the band and the atmosphere. We were very happy that we decided to switch our ADR, and we all enjoyed the meal very much. We paid $6 OOP for the beer, and left an additional tip. Our bill was $154 due to the holiday surcharge. We used 4 TS credits.
Last day-Sunday, December 23rd-
We couldnt believe how quickly our trip came to an end! DH went to get 2 coffees at Kona Coffee Bar, and brought back Tonga Toast from Captain Cooks. We had wanted to have it for breakfast, but the days got away from us. We all shared a bite, and it was as sweet, rich and delicious as always! Tonga Toast is definitely vacation food. I cant imagine ever eating something like that at home! Total for the coffee and Tonga Toast was $11 OOP. We didnt want to fill up since we had breakfast scheduled for 10:30 at Crystal Palace. This was our first visit to Crystal Palace after making and cancelling ADRs several times before. I wish we hadnt waited so long to try it, because it was wonderful! We were seated right after checking in. The restaurant was quiet due to the time of our reservation. The food was still plentiful, fresh and hot. I devoured Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Cheesy Breakfast Potatoes, Breakfast Lasagna, Honeydew Melon, a Croissant and a Krispy Kreme donut hole. I tried and didnt like the pancakes. I had a bite of the Smoked Salmon and thought it was excellent! I wish I had tried the puffed French Toast, but I was full! Our server brought us lots of orange juice and coffee. The character interaction was fabulous! Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore came to our table twice, and posed for pictures. It was so much fun! DH enjoyed the Breakfast Pizza, Cheesy Breakfast Potatoes, Salmon, Bacon, Sausage, and Fruit. He really enjoyed his meal! DS had a Croissant, Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Corned Beef Hash, and a Krispy Kreme donut hole. He didnt really care for the Hash, but was really happy with everything else. DD had Sausage, Bacon, Smoked Salmon, and Watermelon. It was a meat feast for her. We all really enjoyed this meal, and will return the next time. It was a great way to end our trip! We paid $98 from our Rewards card plus a tip of $20 OOP for this meal, as we were out of dining credits.
On our way out of MK we went to the Main Street Confectionary to use up our snack credits before leaving. We had 12 credits which we used to pick up Mickey Krispie Treats, Chocolate Chip Cookies and a couple of sodas for our trip home. I didnt get a total on this, but I would estimate it at $3 per credit, for a total of $36.
The dining plan cost us $1247 for our 8 days. We used all but one CS credit. Our meals and snacks that used credits came to a total of: $1898. The total we saved was $651. Would we have always had dessert with lunch if we werent on the dining plan? No. Would we have ordered as many appetizers and desserts if we were paying out of pocket? No. It was great to have our meals prepaid, and to not worry about the bill when we all ordered dinner. I am not sure if we will do the meal plan again. The family loves it, but I am not sure if the new version will save us money, since the tip and appetizer arent included.
We really enjoyed our meals at Disney and feel that the overall food quality has gone up over the years. We have incorporated TS meals into our vacation as the kids have gotten older, and with the dining plan, have switched from TS at lunch to TS at dinner. We will miss the old dining plan, and hope Disney tweaks it in the future, to make it more appealing to us. Thanks for reading and happy planning! Lisa
Today we began the day with 2 Croissants and coffees from Kona Coffee Bar, for a total OOP cost of $9. We headed to MK for the morning. Lunchtime rolled around and we were decided to try Pinocchios for the first time. I ordered Italian Wedding Soup and we shared 2 orders of Figaro Fries. The soup was fine. It was hot, which felt great on a cool day. The Figaro Fries were yummy! The fries are covered with cheese sauce, bacon bits, romaine lettuce, tomatoes and ranch dressing. They got nice and soggy, which was wonderful for me to eat. We will definitely try these again! This $9 bill was covered by 3 snack credits. DH tried a Turkey and Cheese Panini on whole grain bread, with Strawberry Cheesecake and Diet Coke. He thought his sandwich was good, enjoyed the Figaro Fries, and gave me his cheesecake, which was edible, but nothing exciting. DS and DD both had Chicken Strips and Fries, with a Canoli, Vanilla Shake, and 2 Sodas. They like the Disney Strips, but didnt love the Figaro Fries. I think they were too healthy for them! The total came to $40, and we used 3 CS credits.
Dinner was initially scheduled for Tutto Italia, but the family decided that they would rather go back to Biergarten. Concierge switched our ADR, and we were happy. We arrived at Biergarten before our time, and waited for about 15 minutes to be seated. Our server was Regina, and she was very sweet. We sat with two retired couples from the Orlando area. We chatted a bit, and then got to the buffet. The food was great! I tried Macaroni Salad, Sausages with Sauerkraut, hot German Potato Salad, Pork Schnitzel with Hunter Sauce, Pretzel Bread, Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce, Black Forest Cake and hot tea and Coke. I loved everything, except for the Black Forest Cake. DH sampled the Sausages, Schnitzel, Roast Pork, Sauerbraten, hot Potato Salad, Spatzle, Pretzel Bread, and skipped dessert for Schnitzel. He had a non-alcoholic Becks with dinner. DS ate Sausages, Pork Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, Beef Liver, Pretzel Bread and doused everything in Hunter Sauce. He drank a few Cokes while doing damage to the buffet. He skipped dessert in lieu of more Schnitzel! He was one happy camper! DD had Sausages, Schnitzel and Hunter Sauce, Macaroni and Cheese, Roast Chicken, Apple Strudel, Vanilla Pudding and Hot Tea. We enjoyed the band and the atmosphere. We were very happy that we decided to switch our ADR, and we all enjoyed the meal very much. We paid $6 OOP for the beer, and left an additional tip. Our bill was $154 due to the holiday surcharge. We used 4 TS credits.
Last day-Sunday, December 23rd-
We couldnt believe how quickly our trip came to an end! DH went to get 2 coffees at Kona Coffee Bar, and brought back Tonga Toast from Captain Cooks. We had wanted to have it for breakfast, but the days got away from us. We all shared a bite, and it was as sweet, rich and delicious as always! Tonga Toast is definitely vacation food. I cant imagine ever eating something like that at home! Total for the coffee and Tonga Toast was $11 OOP. We didnt want to fill up since we had breakfast scheduled for 10:30 at Crystal Palace. This was our first visit to Crystal Palace after making and cancelling ADRs several times before. I wish we hadnt waited so long to try it, because it was wonderful! We were seated right after checking in. The restaurant was quiet due to the time of our reservation. The food was still plentiful, fresh and hot. I devoured Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Cheesy Breakfast Potatoes, Breakfast Lasagna, Honeydew Melon, a Croissant and a Krispy Kreme donut hole. I tried and didnt like the pancakes. I had a bite of the Smoked Salmon and thought it was excellent! I wish I had tried the puffed French Toast, but I was full! Our server brought us lots of orange juice and coffee. The character interaction was fabulous! Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore came to our table twice, and posed for pictures. It was so much fun! DH enjoyed the Breakfast Pizza, Cheesy Breakfast Potatoes, Salmon, Bacon, Sausage, and Fruit. He really enjoyed his meal! DS had a Croissant, Sausage, Bacon, Eggs, Corned Beef Hash, and a Krispy Kreme donut hole. He didnt really care for the Hash, but was really happy with everything else. DD had Sausage, Bacon, Smoked Salmon, and Watermelon. It was a meat feast for her. We all really enjoyed this meal, and will return the next time. It was a great way to end our trip! We paid $98 from our Rewards card plus a tip of $20 OOP for this meal, as we were out of dining credits.
On our way out of MK we went to the Main Street Confectionary to use up our snack credits before leaving. We had 12 credits which we used to pick up Mickey Krispie Treats, Chocolate Chip Cookies and a couple of sodas for our trip home. I didnt get a total on this, but I would estimate it at $3 per credit, for a total of $36.
The dining plan cost us $1247 for our 8 days. We used all but one CS credit. Our meals and snacks that used credits came to a total of: $1898. The total we saved was $651. Would we have always had dessert with lunch if we werent on the dining plan? No. Would we have ordered as many appetizers and desserts if we were paying out of pocket? No. It was great to have our meals prepaid, and to not worry about the bill when we all ordered dinner. I am not sure if we will do the meal plan again. The family loves it, but I am not sure if the new version will save us money, since the tip and appetizer arent included.
We really enjoyed our meals at Disney and feel that the overall food quality has gone up over the years. We have incorporated TS meals into our vacation as the kids have gotten older, and with the dining plan, have switched from TS at lunch to TS at dinner. We will miss the old dining plan, and hope Disney tweaks it in the future, to make it more appealing to us. Thanks for reading and happy planning! Lisa
