DlxDDP, Memorial Day Weekend and a 4 yr Old- Updated 6/11

[emmiesmom]

In December we became DVC members and we got a "free" 3 night vacation so we went on Memorial Day weekend (from Th-M) and decided let's live a little and get the Deluxe Dining Plan...

The participants are myself - a teacher who loves food and different cuisines- but I had to avoid dairy and egg products for health reasons for most of the trip
DH - loves to try new things and a variety of cuisines
DD- 4 years old , she loves dumplings, pizza, tacos, peanut butter, pasta, mac and cheese

We made our ADR's 90 days in advance and here is where we ate:
Liberty Tree Tavern- Lunch
Ohana- dinner
Crystal Palace - Breakfast
Cinderella's Royal Table - Lunch
Flying Fish- Dinner
Hollywood Brown Derby- Lunch
Tutto Italia- Dinner
Teppan Edo- Lunch
Le Cellier - Dinner
Tony's Town Square - Lunch

And many, many snacks! Reviews to come!

 

[butiflfeet]

Oooooooh! You have some of my favs on that list! I can't wait for your reviews

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Great places! Can't wait to read!

 

[emmiesmom]

Thanks for reading along!

We arrived in Orlando just after 9:30am and after a quick ride on the magical express and checking in we headed to the Magic Kingdom. After a few rides we ended up being 20 minutes late for our ADR for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern- however we were still able to be seated.
Unfortunately we did not take photos of our meals - DH was not up for it!

What we ate:
DH -
fried cheese - yummy! all of it!!
William Tell Chicken Pasta- I really liked it DH thought it was just ok
Brownie w/Ice Cream- It was huge and DH and DD loved it!

Me-
salad w/strawberry vinagrette - the dressing was delicious
turkey dinner - the potatoes had very little taste but everything else was good -I didn't try the gravy though
fruit - melon and grapes

DD - salad, mac and cheese, and fruit - She enjoyed it all!

This was the 1st time we had been and we would go again. It was quiet and peaceful compared to the busy MK counter service experiences! A nice break and we had really good service!
Overall Grade:B

 

[gardengirl628]

looking forward to reading more!

 

[kimgof]

 

[leeann32]

Can't wait to read your reviews! Great list!

 

[leeann32]

Can't wait to read your reviews! Great list!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

another one subbing - some of our favourites there.

 

[TigerKat]

Sign me up.....

 

[scanne]

We're doing LTT for our lunch on our arrival day! Sounds like a great place for a nice, quiet meal. We, too, are on the DxDP!

 

[emmiesmom]

Thanks everyone for posting and reading! Onto dinner of arrival day: O'hana

We had a 5:30 ADR and checked in on time - this time. We had about a 10 minute wait and were then seated by a window all the way in and at the end. A pretty view of the greenery at the Poly.

This was the start of some tasty adult beverages for me a delicious strawberry daquiri! Fruity, ice cold and sweet but not cloying- PERFECT!

Dinner included:
Pineapple bread - DH and DD loved it, for me it was good but not great
Salad- I loved the dressing!
Potstickers/Dumplings- these were a hit for all 3 of us and we part of the reason we chose this restaurant to help DD eat something besides mac and cheese and pizza on the trip!
Noodles- again a hit for all 3 of us and the only thing we asked for more of
Various meats- I preferred the shrimp (and ate DH) and he really liked the beef best!

Dessert was the bread pudding and bananas- DH and DD really liked it, I loved the bananas but the bread pudding texture just turned me off :

We had great service! Cousin Cliff was awesome and gave DD a handful of umbrellas for her drink that kept her busy for most of dinner. The kids' limbo activity and instrument playing was a lot of fun for our active 4 yr old and allowed us to eat meat (which DD shuns in forms that are not hidden!)

We're going next February with 3 more adults and 2 more kids and this is going to be a must do!!!

Overall Grade: A

 

[ljcrochet]

Great reviews so far. Can't wait to read the rest since we are going with my 4 year old on deluxe dining in August.

 

[butiflfeet]

I have to keep Ohana in mind for our next trip! Thanks for sharing!

 

[emmiesmom]

The next morning began the first full day of our trip and the only day we scheduled 3 ADRs. To start was an 8:10 ADR for Crystal Palace to see Winnie the Pooh and friends and to get in the park before opening.

We had no problem getting into the park and walking up to Crystal Palace at 8 and it was a few minutes with everyone waiting and then they began seating. We were seated right around our ADR time- maybe 5 minutes after. We had a nice waitress who immediately got us juice and asked the chef to come see me.

This was a great experience!
FYI, I had been overdoing some foodstuff that I am sensitive to (not a true allergy but enough to ruin a vacation) at O'hana so my body demanded that I be egg and dairy free this day to enjoy vacation .

This was no problem at Crystal Palace and the chef walked me through the buffet line and brought me out waffles and syrup (kind of like toaster waffles but without dairy or eggs) I also had fruit, potatoes, sausage and juice- all very good and plenty for breakfast

DD ate like a champ here ! 2 pieces of the puffed french toast, pancake, various fruit and strawberries with whipped cream

DH - puffed french toast (said it was amazing he went back for more!)
bacon, cereal, fruit (good but the same as home)

The characters (pooh, Eeyore and Tigger) were wonderful but we ended up leaving just after 9 without seeing piglet because we wanted to ride some rides!

We had been to CP in July for dinner and it was OK - but it seemed hectic to us and the food was ok but not great. This experience was so much better! We would definitely go again for breakfast especially before park opening- it was the perfect way to start a full day in the Magic Kingdom!

Overall Grade: A

 

[chocolateMinnie]

We love breakfast at CP, we missed it this year as we opted for dinner instead and the children are getting too old to want to do both. Much preferred the food at breakfast to dinner. Thanks for posting and waiting for more.

 

[sydprincess]

We also had Cliff at O'Hana's and thought he was awesome! We were so happy with service here that we filled out an outstanding service card down in the lobby after our meal. Can't wait to go back and have more of that salad (pretty sure I ate the entire bowl by myself )

 

[Dizneydaz]

Great review so far!

 

[emmiesmom]

Sorry to be gone so long but work got in my way!

Our next meal was lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table- because of our princess we were having lunch here. We were scheduled for the 1st lunch seating and this was ideal! We got in quickly and got our picture with Cindy and went straight up to our table. (This was a far superior experience to the 20+ min wait after pictures we experienced when we came for dinner in July!)

We did pay for this out of pocket and it was nice to have it pre-paid.

We were seated in the elevated portion on the far left of the restaurant t was quiet and a little darker. Our princess got a wand and wishing star that she loved. The "princesses" that day were Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel in her ballgown and Belle in her blue dress.

For meals:
The antipasto plate was not a big hit with us but DD and Dh ate all the grapes and cheese!

Me- I was still eating dairy and egg free so I had the pork with a soy ginger sauce over jasmine rice with veggies - it was delicious and I ate every bite! Dessert for me was sorbet - good and well- fruity!

DD- hot dog- she inhaled it! She has only started to eat them in the past year and she loves them! For dessert she had the ice cream with the chocolate crown and celebration spinkles- she was in heaven but moms: be prepared with wet ones.baby wipes to clean up the child!

DH- got the Major Domo (sp) pie which he thought was good but not great and for dessert got the chocolate buckle. He thought this was terrific!! He's not usually a fan of cream cheese/cheesecake but he said it really made the dessert!

We really love the castle atmosphere and if you have a little princess I feel it's absolutely worth eating here to see the princesses without long lines! The food we have had is always good (but it is not the 2 credit food you see at other signature restaurants.)

We would absolutely come again and my goal would be the 1st lunch (11:45-12 I think- our time was 11:55 )seating because the wait was minimal

Overall Grade: A-
(Location A, Characters A, Food B+)

 

[lissawynn]

Cousin Cliff brought my nephew a kids' cup filled with gummy worms and topped it off with an umbrella. He talked about that for the rest of our trip.
We're doing CRT for a surprise for the kids in July. I can't wait to see their faces when the find out we're eating in the castle.