FAMILY on 6-night DELUXE WINE & DINE -- reviews but not photos

[rlduvall]

Great reviews. Looking forward to reading the rest of them.

 

[DisOrBust]

So then did you have 2 bottles of wine then on another day??

 

[MississippiMamma]

So then did you have 2 bottles of wine then on another day??

We had 6 wine credits to use on our trip. This is how we used them: one 2WC bottle at Jilko, one 2WC bottle at California Grill, one 1WC bottle for dinner at Tutto, one WC bottle for lunch at Chefs de France. (I'll review CG, Tutto & Chefs later when I get to them). We certainly could have gotten 6 bottles of wine with the plan. Even at Jilko and CG there were 1WC bottles on the wine list. But we really didn't want to drink that much wine and we enjoyed trying nicer bottles than we usually buy at Jilko and CG.

 

[ss9498]

We are going to be a party of six on the deluxe dining plan too in Nov/December. So it was ok to just have 2 people one the wine and dine plan? My husband isn't a wine drinker and my parents are. I wonder if they would be able to add that option and still dine with us.

 

[MississippiMamma]

We are going to be a party of six on the deluxe dining plan too in Nov/December. So it was ok to just have 2 people one the wine and dine plan? My husband isn't a wine drinker and my parents are. I wonder if they would be able to add that option and still dine with us.

Ask a CM, but I don't think that will be any problem at all. The wine & dine is for one wine credit per night, per party. It doesn't matter how many people are drinking. Furthermore, if you are booked as two parties (grandma&grandpa / mom&dad&kids) then just put the wine & dine on grandma&grandpa's booking. You will all six be sitting at the table, grandma&grandpa will order the wine, and as many people sitting at the table who want to drink can. The server will pour three glasses or whatever. Then when the bill comes, they will take the wine credit off grandma&grandpa's account. If you're all booked as one party, just add wine&dine and make grandma&grandpa pay the difference. It will still amount to the same thing -- one wine credit per night of your stay.

 

[MississippiMamma]

DAY FOUR – MAGIC KINGDOM (Crystal Palace lunch & California Grill “Wishes” dinner)

We planned to spend the entire fourth day (April 8) at the Magic Kingdom. Since I knew we wouldn’t be going back to our cabin before dinner at California Grill, I made everybody dress up a little more for the park than they would have done otherwise. The boys (including DH) still wore shorts, but they wore button-up sports shirts. DD & I wore sun-dresses. We look very well-dressed in all our park photos, and felt comfortable at California Grill also. We took a boat from Fort Wilderness to the Magic Kingdom early in the morning, and returned late that night on the last boat from the Contemporary to Fort Wilderness. It was a great day.

One of our friends who goes to Disney four time a year with her family told us that the best food in Magic Kingdom was Crystal Palace, and we had also read good reviews. We made an ADR for 1:10 and got there right on time. We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but it was worth it! We really loved the whole experience at Crystal Palace. Even though our kids are a little old for the magic of Pooh & Friends, they still enjoyed meeting the characters. Our 7-year-old got into the whole thing, including parading through the “100 Acre Woods” of waving green napkins. The great surprise was the food. The salad bar was divine. My favorites were Couscous, Tofu, and Roasted Vegetable Salad; Mediterranean Pasta Salad; and Tabbouleh Salad. I didn’t eat any meat that day, but I enjoyed the Broccoli tossed in Puri Puri and topped with Key Lime Ponzu; Medley of Vegetables with Balsamic Glaze; Fire Roasted Corn Spoon Bread; and Vegetable Pasta. The carving stations looked good, but I just preferred the wonderful salads and vegetables. DH and kids seemed to like everything they tried. For dessert I enjoyed the cheese board as well as the Banana Bread Pudding with Baily’s Irish Cream Sauce. I was really impressed with how fresh the food was and how nice the whole dining experience there was. If I had been paying OOP I would have considered it well worth it, which is something I don’t think I could say about every place we went on this trip.

One piece of advice: the bathrooms there are really small. Take your kids to the baby station and bathrooms right behind the restaurant before you go in, and then if somebody needs to go on the way back to the park, go back via the baby station & bathrooms. DD spent so much time in line for the bathroom I though she had been kidnapped!

After a long, long day in the Magic Kingdom, we hopped on the monorail to the Contemporary. Our ADR was for 9:30. We checked in at 8:45 and were seated immediately. The timing was perfect for us because we were done with our meal and about to order dessert when “Wishes” started. We went out to the viewing area and watched the show before returning to our table to order and eat dessert. I think it would have been awkward (and VERY late) if we had not gotten seated at 8:45. (I actually thought Wishes began at 9:00 rather than 10:00, which is why we were there so early in the first place.) It all worked out.

Our meal was great, and we absolutely loved our server. He was so kind to our kids. I had been concerned about having kids at such a nice restaurant, but it was not a problem at all. He was also great with the wine list, bringing out three choices for us to try before deciding on a bottle.

For appetizers we ordered two flatbreads: one was Mushroom and the other was Triple Cheese, Pecorino, Asiago, Provolone. DH wasn’t feeling very well so he ordered Hearts of Romaine salad; he said it was OK. DS7 had been very happy with the kid’s menu all trip (which I’m not reviewing) but he loves California Rolls. I was a little surprised they weren’t on the kid’s menu there, but I ordered him one with my appetizer order, and he loved it. I was happy to share the flatbreads with DS12 & DD10.

I have a confession to make about my entrée order. I have never liked scallops, but two summers ago we went to Cape San Blas, Florida for vacation and we went out scalloping ourselves. DH cooked them and I absolutely loved them. So I decided that the reason I have never liked scallops before is because I had never had them fresh and/or properly prepared. I saw scallops on the online menu at California Grill and decided to order them. I did and it was the most disappointing entrée of my trip. However, I don’t blame California Grill, I blame myself. I just don’t like scallops UNLESS they are the tiny ones you can get yourself and UNLESS my very own husband cleans and cooks them for me. End of story.

The rest of my family was happy with their entrée orders. DS12 had his usual: Oak-fired Filet of Beef. DH ordered Seared veal loin. It was very tender and good. DD had been complaining again about fancy food and wanted something off the kiddie menu. I talked her into ordering the Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta, Cremini Mushrooms, and Zinfandel Glaze. I explained to our server that while she wanted the sauce and the polenta and the mushrooms, she didn’t want anything touching anything else. I was embarrassed, but he said his daughter was just like that. Her entrée came our on one big plate with four little dishes sitting inside it, each one containing a different part of the dish. She loved it; it may have been her favorite meal at Disney. I think it was also a great example of how accommodating we found almost all the restaurants to be. What a great way to introduce your kids to fine dining!

Desserts were good too. We had some kind of banana dessert that had ice cream. I don’t think it was the Banana and Butterscotch "Buzz” I see on the menu, but it might have been. We also had the Valrhona Chocolate and Coffee; it was rich and good. I had read a good review of the Honey Crunch Cake, and it wasn’t bad. I ordered the California Grill's Cheese Board, which I loved. There is not a single restaurant in our town that offers a cheese plate. Sometimes I go to Whole Foods Grocery (a two hour trip) just to buy cheese. Disney was great for a cheese-a-holic like me.

I think California Grill was a great place to end a wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom. We waddled to the boat launch and caught the last boat home. It is a miracle we made it back to Fort Wilderness, we were so tired. That night we decided that the rope drop at Epcot would have to happen without us. We needed to sleep in!

 

[hayanyujah847]

Love your Food Report so far. We are doing the DxDP in October.
Can't wait to read more~!

 

[milmore104]

I can't wait to read more!

 

[SunnieRN]

I am having so much fun reading your report!!! It sounds like you had a most wonderful time!!!

 

[luckytobeme88]

I am so glad that you are sharing your experience with us. A quick question if you don't mind. We will be on the DLX DDP in a couple of months. I have been debating whether to add the wine & dine since we will have 5 adults and 6 teenagers. What happen if your group only consumed half of the bottle of wine? can you take it back to the resort with you? Do you have to finish the whole bottle? any insights?

 

[dzneelvr]

Yours is the first review to cast doubt on the grapefruit cake at HBD and I truly appreciate that I, too, get hyped on something because of what people say, but ran into the same brick wall with the ever-famous Dole Whip YUCK...bland, tasteless, and IMO aweful. I'm going to order a creme brulee instead as you suggest. Truly appreciate your reviews. We are going to many of the same places in June--some for the first time

 

[sanilacjack]

Luvin' your review!


Kim

 

[DisneyVeteran]

Yours is the first review to cast doubt on the grapefruit cake at HBD and I truly appreciate that I, too, get hyped on something because of what people say, but ran into the same brick wall with the ever-famous Dole Whip YUCK...bland, tasteless, and IMO aweful. I'm going to order a creme brulee instead as you suggest. Truly appreciate your reviews. We are going to many of the same places in June--some for the first time

I love Dole Whip! But everyone has different tastes. My husband doesn't like it either. This grapefruit cake sounds interesting...may need to try it on our trip in June.

Thanks OP for all your reviews - really enjoying reading them. We have an ADR for Cali Grill in June. I was a little nervous because I'm picky but sounds like you ordered some great things. I may need to try what your daughter ordered - maybe they'll let me put everything on the side kidding!

 

[lisaj]

fantastic reviews.