Doing 12 days of Disney dining with gc & TiW. Updated 4/24 Pop and Rainforest Cafe

[akayek31]

Hello all! I am here to tell the good, the bad, and the ugly of our TiW experience during our 12 day trip to WDW. Our dates were February 23rd-March 5th. It was our first time using the TiW card.

I had a 35% discount for a room only AP rate and went back and forth about using TiW and DDP. In the end the spreadsheet I did said that TiW would be the better deal. I armed myself with a $800 gift card for food and merchandise and gift cards to places like: TGIFridays, Stake and Shake, Starbucks, Cracker Barrel, Hard Rock Cafe, McDonald's, Dairy Queen, and Rainforest Cafe.

Here are some pictures of us:

Up first is me with my favorite characters Aladdin and Jasmine our last trip

Next is my DS at the Daytona 500 with a retired driver Dale Jarrett (any picture taken with my DS's camera will not be to clear)

We got to Pop Century about 1:00pm after going to DTD to get my AP and TiW card. We had long since used the $10 gift card at Cracker Barrel so one down. We went to Animal Kingdom and after a few rides we went to Yak and Yeti cs. I thought this was a TiW cs but was wrong. DS said it was good. We were going to share because the gift card was not loaded on the KTTW card due to their being an update when we got to the resort and we did not have our normal cards.

I had smelled the bbq when we went past Flame tree and decided I wanted to get that and use my TiW discount. I got a kids drumstick meal with grapes, a cookie, and bottle water. I also got the key lime mousse. It was tangy and good. The drumsticks were awesome. I will be back for those again.

After leaving AK we hopped over to Magic Kingdom for late hours. We got back to Pop around 11:30 because I had been running with no sleep for over 36 hours. We filled our mugs and got in the pizza line for dinner at pop. We got 2 Chicken Alfredo dinners, tye dye cheesecake for me and worms and dirt for DS. My camera was not working and DS had left his in the room so no pics of these. We really liked the Chicken Alfredo at Pop.

20% off at Flame Tree- $1.82
20% off at Everything Pop- $4.99
Total saved by TiW so far- $6.81

Up next: Coral Reef for the first time (will it be as bad as we had read about) and an old Favorite in Casey's Corner.

 

[Tinkerbellah]

I can't wait to read on about the TIW!!! BTW Cute pic of u w/ A&J!

 

[akayek31]

I can't wait to read on about the TIW!!! BTW Cute pic of u w/ A&J!

Thanks! I was on a quest for all the characters back in October and this past one too! I will be updating with better pics next post.

 

[akayek31]

Sorry it took so long to post again. We had a freak lightning storm that blew up the modem and router so we had no internet. On to the reviews.

Today was February 24th for extra magic hours at Epcot. I don't have a lunch review as I was spending the day searching for a new camera since my new one was not working right. I spent some of the Starbucks gift card in the Super Target. I had a banana nut bread and with no camera did not take a picture. It was fresh and tasted good.


I had been back and forth over making an ADR at Coral Reef. I had read on several websites that it was not good. My DS is a big seafood lover where I am not so I never did. This was supposed to be a surprise location but I am not one to keep a surprise.

Originally we were going to be eating lunch here at 1:50. I changed the ADR to 3:30 and figured I would be back in time to get there. I was not (I called on the phone while out to cancel). We made a new ADR for 5:30. All the while hoping this was worth it. When we got there I requested to be seated near the aquariums. They said it would take longer but I didn't mind. We were called within 5 minutes and this was our view

I informed our server that I had the TiW discount. I ordered a Magical Star Cocktail which is made with fruit and Rum. I usually like rum flavored drinks, but this one it took me the entire meal to drink and was even given a to go cup (which shocked me lol) to take the rest in from the manager. This cost $10.50

My son had his usual Coke which cost $2.99

Our server then brought the bread. I ate some of it and don't remember if I liked it or not. My DS ate two pieces so he apparently liked them

DS again is the big seafood lover so he ordered the Grilled Mahi Mahi. It came with Rock Shrimp, Hearts of Palm, Jasmine Rice, Cilantro, and a coconut-lime sauce for $24.99. There was nothing left on the plate and he said everyday that this was his favorite meal of all the trips we have taken (until we get further along in the report where this slips to second place )

I had planed on a chicken caesar salad from the lunch menu but it was not on the dinner menu. I was very happy with my selection of the Vegetable-Potato Strudel. It was made with cheeses as I was told by the manager who gave me the to go cup. I cleared my plate also and thought why had we not eaten here before. It was my favorite meal so far but knew that the ADR on the 29th would make it second place. I will be eating here again in the future. The cost of the entree was 18.99

Now my 19 yr old DS was looking at the menu for dessert and saw the Baileys and Jack Daniel's Mousse. He noticed the little star that said that it contained alcohol. So DS being 19 was excited (I didn't tell him that the alcohol evaporates when you cook it ) I he didn't eat all of it. I tasted it and thought it was good but would not get it for myself. It cost 7.99.

Total cost of meal was 68.00 and some change. I had the receipt when I started the report but it has disappeared.


While I was on Mission Space Orange DS got a strawberry mango smootie and I did not get a chance to take a picture of it. He must have liked it since he got another one later in the week.

We hopped over to Magic Kingdom after this. I was hungry about midnight and stopped at Casey's Corner for some corn dog nuggets. DS said he was not hungry. I got a plain hot dog combo with fries and put hot cheese and ketchup on it. Now the same DS who said he was full and did not want anything proceeded to eat most of my corn dog nuggets and fries I love the nuggets here and have to get them at least once a trip.

Total saved by the TiW at Coral Reef on food $10.99
Total saved by the TiW at Coral Reef on drinks $1.90
Total saved by the TiW so far $19.70

Next up: Whispering Canyon Cafe and was it worth it?

 

[chocolateMinnie]

subbing - the hotdog looks great

 

[akayek31]

subbing - the hotdog looks great

It was. I love Casey's. I have been eating there since I went with my dad as a kid.

 

[Denamac]

We love Coral Reef too. It's a must do at my DD's request each trip!

 

[Sazzo'sMommy]

Keep 'em coming. Good reviews.

 

[akayek31]

We love Coral Reef too. It's a must do at my DD's request each trip!

We will be going again. I loved the veggie dish. DS will be in heaven if we go again

Keep 'em coming. Good reviews.

Thanks! I need to upload the next batch of pictures.

 

[jc040404]

I'm here!! Awesome to finally have a face to go with your posts! Love the pic with Aladdin & Jasmine.

Loving your reviews, too. Coral Reef sounds nifty, and Casey's is always great! Can you believe that I've yet to buy TiW? I mean to everytime we get APs, but always forget. I wonder how much I'd have saved, but I'll try not to think about it. Thank goodness we don't do tons of TS on our visits. I don't even remember to use our AP discount most of the time!

Excited to read more!

 

[GaRain]

Can't wait to read more and see how much the TiW saves you by the end of the trip.
You know, I tried Casey's for the first time just this last year...good stuff!

 

[akayek31]

I'm here!! Awesome to finally have a face to go with your posts! Love the pic with Aladdin & Jasmine.

Loving your reviews, too. Coral Reef sounds nifty, and Casey's is always great! Can you believe that I've yet to buy TiW? I mean to everytime we get APs, but always forget. I wonder how much I'd have saved, but I'll try not to think about it. Thank goodness we don't do tons of TS on our visits. I don't even remember to use our AP discount most of the time!

Excited to read more!

Yay your here! I sometimes forgot to use my AP discount too. Then again it was made up for when they used the Premium AP discount instead of mine. I am trying to get to the next one but really really am dreading it.

Can't wait to read more and see how much the TiW saves you by the end of the trip.
You know, I tried Casey's for the first time just this last year...good stuff!

I found pictures of my late father eating a hot dog at the tables outside of Casey's. Maybe that is why it is a favorite and I didn't know it. Thanks for reading

 

[vinotinto]

Signing in!

I'm curious to see if AP rates will be available for my dates in October. I don't have an AP, but based on my calculations, AP would save us a lot in room and the TiW would be better than the DxDP (because of the adult drink factor). Definitely want to know about your TiW savings.

 

[akayek31]

Ok on to February 25th. We had reservations for lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe at 2:15 p.m. I had been coughing like crazy so I decided that morning I was going to locate a CVS minute clinic. Apparently I was just coughing and they sent me on my way (still am coughing to this day almost a month later). I rescheduled WCC for me since I knew DS would be back at the room by 9 pm to get ready for the Daytona 500. After the doctor visit we went to IHOP and had lunch. I had a free breakfast there but was informed that I could not pull it up on my phone and use it so I got a kids mac and cheese with broccoli in it from the Lorax film. I didn't take pics because I was irritated. I then went to Publix to get some breakfast foods. In Georgia, I love Publix because BOGO is awesome. You buy one and get it for half price. In Florida you have to buy both to get one free

I had a 9:45 p.m. ADR at WCC. I arrived on time and was given a buzzer. I waited about 15 minutes.

I had Beth as a server. I informed Beth that I had the TiW discount. This turned it to be the worst thing to do. She knew she had the tip and started paying more attention to the large table of 10 in front of me and the table of 5 too. The best thing I can say about the food was this part of the meal was absolutely amazing.

I ate the entire thing. Now the reason I had wanted to come here was the games and the pork spring rolls. I asked for a refill of my drink as suggested and was only given a regular refill. No games for me. The pork spring rolls came out with Barbecue-Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce and Sweet Chili dipping sauce and it cost $11.49. I didn't like the dipping sauces. I ate some of the spring rolls and wondered if I had made a mistake by rearranging this ADR so many times. They were not horrible but they did knock me out of my chair.

Now for the main course I got the Griddled Home-style Meatloaf - on Mashed Potatoes and Texas Toast with Mushroom Gravy and Garden Fresh Vegetables for $18.99. Now as I said Beth was not very attentive by this point and after I took my picture of the food, I noticed a hair on the plate. It took a few minutes to flag her down to show her. She took the food back to the kitchen and brought it back about 10 minutes later. I have worked at a restaurant for the last 10 years and the first thing we do is get a manager when something like this happens. I never saw a manager and when she brought the food back I tried to eat some of it but the hair kept going through my mind and lost my appetite. When she came back she asked me if I wanted a to go box. I informed her that I wasn't taking it anywhere and that I lost my appetite due to the hair. I am not going to post the picture. I noticed it was the one with the hair and I don't want to gross people out

When Beth brought me the bill, the barely eaten meatloaf was still on there. I should have asked for the manager but didn't. After I got back to the room about 2:30 am (after MK) I felt sick. I went to bed and every time I woke up I had that sick feeling. I did not get out of the bed the next day until 2:00p.m. I missed my ADR for lunch at LTT that morning. I decided then that I would not eat at WCC anymore.


Total saved by TiW $6.69
Total saved so far by TiW $26.39

Next up: Hollywood Brown Derby.

 

[akayek31]

Sunday February 26th. I was alone this day due to my son going to the Daytona 500. As I stated in the last post I was ill from the dinner from the night before. I woke up after 2pm missing my Liberty Tree Tavern ADR. I had the $10 CC hold on the Brown Derby and wasn't about to miss it. I got to Hollywood Studios about 4:00. I had an ADR for HBD about 6:20. At about 4:45 I went to the hostess and asked her if I could be sat early. I was hungry at this point. I was seated right away. I love HBD. It was my second trip there. I only go for the Cobb Salad. It is the best salad I have ever had. I always order mine without the eggs. Today was no different. I ordered the Cobb Salad and a Hollywood Lights. First I was brought the bread:

This is my one of my favorite breads. It was not to hard and the butter went well with it. I then was served my drink:

I love this drink. I am sorry but I am not sure what all is in it. It does have rum I do know that But one was all I was going to drink. I was tempted when Tim my server asked if I wanted another one. Now Tim was a little like the lady the night before. He knew he already had his tip so he was tending to others more than me. I was beginning to wonder if it was me being alone or the TiW card. He wasn't as bad as one coming up . When my salad was delivered they stirred it up before I could get my picture. It was great as usual. The last time I had it my son was there, so it was finished. This time not even close

I enjoy this restaurant and will be there again next trip. I however will not go alone so this wonderful salad will not go to waste. As I left I made sure to inform the Hostess that I was there early and to please make sure I was not charged the cancellation fee (I wasn't).

It was EMH so I enjoyed the park and DS came back from the race (it was postponed until the next day.) At almost closing I wanted something to eat. DHS was open until 11 and I didn't want to risk not making it back to Pop before they closed to eat. I went to Fairfax Fare and ordered a Barbecued Pork Sandwich - with baked beans and coleslaw. This cost $8.99. It was good. I will probably have it again but not if I have other options. My camera battery needed to be charged the night before and with my state of mind I forgot to. So no pictures of this meal.

We did make it back to Pop before closing. I got an itzakadoozie (same as before but not twisted.), DS got a Nestle chocolate milk, and I got orange juice for the morning.

Total saved by TiW at HBD for food $3.00
Total saved by TiW at HBD for Bev. $2.10
Total saved by TiW at Pop $1.43
Total saved so far by TiW $32.92

Up next: Pizzafari, Beaches and Cream, and AMC Movie and Dine.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

gross hair story - and what rotten service - not a great advert for TIW or WCC

 

[NorweJenNY]

You picked some great restaurants! I love your plan of using TiW and gift cards! I also love that you're showing the value of using TiW at CS restaurants - the little bit here and there adds up!

You pointed out that you saved $1.10 at WCC and $.51 at HBD? Looks like you're figuring after the included gratuities on TiW. People pay gratuities at all these TS restaurants traditionally anyway (even with DDP), so why not post the savings before gratuities? Just curious.

Looking forward to more!

 

[akayek31]

gross hair story - and what rotten service - not a great advert for TIW or WCC

Welcome! I promise it does get better. I however will not go back to WCC. Well maybe one day I will but not anytime soon.

You picked some great restaurants! I love your plan of using TiW and gift cards! I also love that you're showing the value of using TiW at CS restaurants - the little bit here and there adds up!

You pointed out that you saved $1.10 at WCC and $.51 at HBD? Looks like you're figuring after the included gratuities on TiW. People pay gratuities at all these TS restaurants traditionally anyway (even with DDP), so why not post the savings before gratuities? Just curious.

Looking forward to more!

Welcome! I was thinking of doing it that way. It doesn't seem like that big of a savings if I add the gratuities. I think I will go back and edit. Thanks for reading!

 

[akayek31]

February 27th was day two of my being alone in WDW. DS went off to Daytona before they said the race would be ran at 7:00. He left at 6:30 am. I couldn't get back to sleep so I figured I would try to go to a rope drop for once in my life and hop to all four parks in one day. I started out at AK since they had morning extra magic hours. I got there about 8:05. After the safari I went back to Pizzafari because I knew they had breakfast and took the TiW card. I ordered the Bounty platter and water. This consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, breakfast potatoes, and biscuit for $8.29. I enjoyed the eggs, french toast, and bacon but did not really care for the breakfast potatoes and the sausage. I am usually not a big fan of sausage unless it comes from where I work.

I went to DHS about 11:15. I actually got one of the last fast passes for Toy Story Mania (I tried to give it away but no one wanted it since they closed at 7.)

I stayed there about an hour and then headed to Epcot for my favorite drink and to eat at a new place. I went to the World Showcase and through the International Gateway to The Beach Club. I have been reading about Beaches and Cream since 2008 and I was determined to eat there this time.

I was seated in a two top table near the register so I could charge my phone. I ordered a diet coke and a single cheeseburger. This was the only burger that I had the entire trip (until we left for home on the 5th). It was a single with cheese, lettuce, and tomato with no onions. It was perfect. Here are some pictures I took while waiting for my food:

Here is the Burger:

Another reason I wanted to go here was the ice cream. I wanted to try a No Way Jose which is Peanut Butter and Hot Fudge Delight with Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Morsels, Whipped Cream and a Cherry. I asked my server Jane if I could get it smaller than it came. I could! It was worth the wait! I can't wait to take my kids back for this creation. Jane charged me 5.99 instead of 7.99.

I looked around the boardwalk for a little while and then went to Mexico in the WS for my Fiesta Margarita. Now here is where I made my mistake. I went to La Catina to get it. I had been there back in September and it was the same everywhere. This time the flavors were Lime, Berry, and something I can't remember. I drank the lime part and the rest went in the garbage it did not taste good. Not sure why I didn't get a picture of it

After the gross drink I went to MK and decided about 4:30 I was done for. I had hopped all four parks and was ready for a nap. I woke up at 9 and decided to go to DTD for dinner. I had bought $50 AMC gift cards to use at movie and dine for DS and I. DS was still at the race so I went to see the Vow. With my AP I saved $3 getting in the movie. Usually it was $14. I arrived during the previews. I did not get any pictures because I was late and didn't want to be rude. I ordered a Diet Coke which was 4.50 and chicken fingers with fries for 11.99. Since it was late the server asked if I wanted popcorn since they would close in a hour. My crazy self ordered a bag of $7.75 popcorn. The popcorn sat on the table at the resort until we checked out and was thrown away The chicken fingers were average. I wish I had ordered something else. I will next time. My server popped up and asked if I wanted some cheesecake. Well since you said my fave dessert sure! So in the end the meal with tip and entrance to the theater was $50. I would not have ordered so much if my DS was there but wanted to use up the card. It will be an experience we will do again.

Total saved by TiW at Pizzafari $1.66
Total saved by TiW at Beaches $3.69
Total saved by AP at AMC $3.00
Total saved so far by TIW $38.27

Up next: 'Ohana character breakfast and Margarittaville.

 

[akayek31]

Sorry I have been MIA. More to come as soon as I get the pictures uploaded