Food, Character meals, more food and fun! 10 days of Disney on DDP! 12/9 Update

[Guatemommy]

We gave DD the choice for our last day and surprisingly she chose AK - I really was expecting the Belle and Ariel shows at Hollywood, but we granted her request. She loved the idea that we had to go where she chose.

We wanted to be packed up and checked in with our bags before leaving the hotel so we could have a nice day at the park before riding Magical Express back to the airport. We got everything together and went to eat at the food court.

DD chose kids pancakes that came with sausage that DH and I ate. She got a milk and a kids bottle of water for the park. DH and I split the cheese omelette again - we really liked it and it was enough to share - especially with DD's sausage. I got a water and he got an orange juice plus filled his mug with coffee.

Total cost - $18.52 - Total entitlements used: 1 adult and 1 child counter service meals

We decided to buy some bakery items with our snacks - a chocolate croissant (should have gotten more of those), a cran-orange muffin and a blueberry muffin. We ended up eating one muffin with breakfast and saved the rest for later.

Total cost = 8.53 - Total entitlements used: 3 snack credits

Off we went to AK where we did the safari again, the Lion King Show again and Finding Nemo - the order of our day got turned around because we were five minutes late for the bus which changed our show times around, but we managed to do everything DD wanted. After Lion King, DH made a turn into the line for Lilo and Stitch which I had previously, carefully avoided on our other trips to AK because it was so long. This time DD noticed so we had to stay. I'm glad we did - they were the best character interaction aside from the princesses. They were so comical - we all had a good time and got great pictures together.

We stopped during the day for a nosh at Flame Tree BBQ. We chose the BBQ chicken salad, a large iced tea and a key lime mousse dessert. The salad was good and we were able to get DD to eat a few pieces of chicken. I ate the mousse which DH didn’t want. It was good except for the silly green gelatine on top - do you really need that????

Total cost - $14.78 - Total entitlements used: 1 adult counter service meal

We finished the Nemo show and rushed out of the park to catch the bus back to ASMu to make it in time for our ME bus. Of course that bus was incredibly late and I regretted snapping at everyone to hurry. I had time to go to the food court and use up our remaining credits for snacks for the ride home.

I got a box of wheat thins, a cheese Danish, a banana bread and a krispie treat. Dh and I shared a cup of minestrone soup - it was very good and filling just enough.

Total cost - $15.96 - Total entitlements used: 5 snacks

The bus came and we were headed home after a spectacular ten days of food and fun.

Next up - final thoughts

 

[bigal'sdaughter]

Hi! Love your report! We are taking DD for a surprise for her 4th birthday to Cinderella's castle dinner in January. I'm glad you liked the food! DH is not a breakfast person - so we ended up with dinner! I was getting a little nervous... although of course the reason we are going is b/c of the princesses! How were they? Did they interact a lot with your DD?
BTW - I loved the part about getting the ice cream to help out with a spill at 1045 am! We totally ended up doing something like that last fall...

 

[GoofyGirl1717]

I have really enjoyed reading your report. Thanks for all the info!!! Sounds like your family had a BLAST!!

 

[Guatemommy]

Hi! Love your report! We are taking DD for a surprise for her 4th birthday to Cinderella's castle dinner in January. I'm glad you liked the food! DH is not a breakfast person - so we ended up with dinner! I was getting a little nervous... although of course the reason we are going is b/c of the princesses! How were they? Did they interact a lot with your DD?
BTW - I loved the part about getting the ice cream to help out with a spill at 1045 am! We totally ended up doing something like that last fall...

The princess interaction everywhere was great - the castle was especially nice. They do a special ceremony where the kids make a wish and get a wand. Honestly, ALL the character interaction was just unbelievable great with one exception - I mentioned this in my report - the girl playing Jasmine at Akershus really copped a 'tude big time - pretty much told me off and barely stayed long enough to sign DD's book and get a pic. I hope it was just a bad day on her part and not the way she is all the time. Even looking at her autograph, you can see she was harried in her handwriting. Otherwise, everywhere was just perfect for a little princess. I think when Prince Charming kissed her hand in the Grand Floridian, she was flying so high, she just about floated!! Even tho' the price at the castle is steep, it was a very nice experience and that is worth every penny for your special little ones! All the princesses were so sweet to everyone and took time for pics - never hurried at the castle. We even saw Snow White twice at our table! just be prepared - Cindy is only downstairs for the pics - she doesn't usually come up and make the rounds like the others do.So anything you want from her you have to do at the beginning before you go up for your meal.

 

[sunnysideup3]

Great post! I enjoyed the quest for Snow White and her "illness". So cute how they turn a simple explanation into something special and humorous for the kids. Glad you all had a great time!

 

[bigal'sdaughter]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad that you had such a wonderful experience and vacation!

 

[Guatemommy]

All in all, we had an absolutely fabulous trip and I can honestly say that Disney is a truly magical place and overall, they really do know how to run a top-notch business.

Here is my list of favorites:

1. Favorite snack - Mickey rice krispie treat

2. Favorite counter service meal - Probably the 1/2 chicken meal at ASMu food court - it was a ton of food, extremely juicy and I loved that I could pick my sides.

3. Favorite table service meal - this is a tough one, but as a family, overall, our best meal was at Mama Melrose's. We did get appys with that one, so that helps to make it stand out. We all loved every bite - and DD ate a nice, healthy meal there with excellent fish and rice.

4. Favorite buffet - I am going to say Crystal Palace breakfast for this one - it was such a nice, calm experience in a beautiful place with my favorite - Pooh - plus as far as breakfasts go - they made omelettes here which we really like better than the overdone scrambled you usually find on a buffet. Also for cost value - this was so much less expensive with as good if not better choices. I think getting there early added to the experience too so that would be my recommendation.

5. Favorite-sorta-buffet - I am giving this to Akershus - overall we loved our meal, but all of us adored the cold meat and cheese bar that comes with it - we could have made a meal out of that alone! I rate this a 'sorta-buffet' because it is a sit down meal where they serve you, but because you go and get your own cold stuff, it is a 'sorta'. Plus, it gives me a way to honor another very good meal!

6. Favorite character-meal - Food-wise - this one goes to Cinderellas Castle - the meal was fantastic and the princesses were so wonderful with DD.

7. Favorite character-meal- Character-wise - goes to Chef Mickey because we got to meet all the classic Disney folks, but we were not impressed with the food here - especially for the price.

8. Least favorite counter service meal - Animal Kingdom - at Tamu Tamu - tuna in a pita - could have been so much fresher - especially the pita.

9. Least favorite table service meal - while I liked the food, our Ohana experience was disappointing - the wait time was way too long, got seated as the shows were ending so DD didn't get to experience too much of that fun, and I felt we were very rushed all because they wanted to get out because we were seated so late. I may give Ohana another try in the future, but it would have to be with a much earlier ressie.

10. Least favorite overall experience - meeting Jasmine at Akershus - the ONLY person in all of WDW who clearly copped attitude. She skipped our table, we had to get someone to get her back, and then she was rude to me and barely interacted with DD.

Now for our totals…drum roll please……


The actual total cost of all we ate was $1140.93 + $135.30 in tips (for TS meals) = $1276.13. This was for a 9-day Basic Dining Plan.

We got the Quick-service plan for free and upgraded to BDP for $198.

Had we actually bought the Basic Dining plan, it would have cost $863.73, so in essence, it still would have been a deal because we would have saved $277.20 from actual cost.

Our "free" value before tips, actually came to $942.93. For that, I would consider it again. To actually buy a meal plan I wouldn’t do it. I probably wouldn't have eaten so many meals if I had to pay for them.

I think the prices are really too high to spend that much out-of-pocket. But the free dining was part of what made us decide to take this trip and to take it for 10 days, so it did add to the wonderful experience my DD had. I also would never have gone to so many character meals if I was paying, but again, it was worth it to see how happy DD was. Otherwise, we would have spent much more time of our trip on long lines waiting for pics and autographs, so it was very beneficial in that respect.

If I got free dining again, I would still pick this plan as opposed to just the QSDP. I wasn't bowled over by all the counter-service meals - especially the selections for DD. Plus, I do like a good, sit-down meal. I would probably choose less character meals and more evenings in DTD in places I wanted to try and less running back to a park to make a ressie.

I also would have eaten more snacks throughout the stay, or been better about my final selections to bring home - like maybe going to Goofys candy or Main St Bakery, but after all, it is only food and it was all still enjoyed.

I don't regret anything we did - it did work out pretty well and we had no totally awful experiences. I gave DD everything a princess could hope for a first-Disney trip and it will be a memory to last our lifetime.

I am grateful to this DiSboard because 3 months of reading before our trip really helped me to be prepared and allowed me to give my family a well-thought out trip. Otherwise, we may have done a lot of excess 'wandering'. I learned something from every TR and Dining review I read and will end my report by giving thanks to all those great writers and picture takers who made the reports captivating!

I hope my litte review brings good advice to someone else planning a Disney experience!