Forgive Me DISers For I Have Sinned...3/9/12 Sci-Fi Dine In Theater

[annnewjerz]

I have something to confess...

I started a dining review after our trip in December 2009 and never finished it!!

I know, I know, it could be worse! But starting something and not finishing is a pet peeve of mine. I guess I had an excuse at the time, we had a death in the family on the first full day of our vaca and we had to come home early. It wasn't exactly that "magical" Christmas trip I'd been hoping for. So rehashing all of the details seemed like a good idea, but ended up being not nearly as fun as I'd hoped.

Since I honestly remember so little about what we ate that trip (c'mon, it was almost two years ago!) that I decided to scrap the whole thing and start with a clean slate...and that brings us to our upcoming February 2012 trip!

More details about us, the trip and most importantly what/where we are planning to eat will be coming in following posts.

Ann

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introductions!
When & Where
Why
A Bit-o-Food Porn (Appetizers!)
Arrival Day Plans
To DxDDP, or Not To DxDDP?!
Magic Kingdom Plans
Hollywood Studios Plans
Epcot World Showcase Plans
Second Magic Kingdom Day Plans

Day 1 - Earl of Sandwich @ PHL Airport
Day 1 - ESPN Club
Day 1 - Aloha Isle & Custom Cake from Boardwalk Bakery
Day 2 - Boardwalk Bakery
Day 2 - Yak & Yeti
Day 2 - DinoBites
Day 2 - Beaches & Cream
Day 3 - Sci-Fi Dine In Theater

 

[annnewjerz]

Time for introductions! I'm at work (shhhhhh!), so I don't have any uber recent pictures of us saved onto my computer...but hopefully I can provide those sooner rather than later. For now, our background and some not-so-recent pics.

DH (Erik--28) and I (Ann--27) met in 2000 while in High School. We get married in 2005 while Erik was a Submariner in the US Navy and just celebrated our six-year wedding anniversary yesterday.

This is me during our trip in 2007. We had hopped over to the Boardwalk to watch the Phillies game and eat some dinner at the ESPN Club.

This is Erik during our trip in October 2009. He was dressed up while we headed out for MNSSHP. We were the Village People and obviously, he was the sailor.

 

[poohbear2]

I forgive you because I have been in your boat. I wanted to do a review on a past cruise and I had good intentions but it just fell apart.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

Same for me.. i went in May and I did a whole intricate PTR and then came home and was So depressed i couldn't get myself to get back on the DIS wagon.. i am back now though because we are coming back.. IN April.. YAYAYAYAYA

 

[H20DogsNDisney]

can't wait for more

 

[annnewjerz]

I forgive you because I have been in your boat. I wanted to do a review on a past cruise and I had good intentions but it just fell apart.

can't wait for more

Same for me.. i went in May and I did a whole intricate PTR and then came home and was So depressed i couldn't get myself to get back on the DIS wagon

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining in and I pinky promise, no let downs this go-around. There will be lists of ADRs! There will be reviews! And best of all, there will be food porn!

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Subbing! I've done something similar. I did a PTR for our last trip and then never got around to doing the trip report when we got back. I'm looking forward to your reviews!

 

[annnewjerz]

Subbing! I've done something similar. I did a PTR for our last trip and then never got around to doing the trip report when we got back. I'm looking forward to your reviews!

Welcome! I'm glad to see there are so many of us on the DIS with good intentions of doing a post-trip report, only to have the plans fall through...it makes me feel a litttttttttle less guilty about my missteps in the past.

 

[annnewjerz]

So, now that you know who is going, it's time for the trip details!

In our three trips to Disney World as a couple (and Erik's only three trips ever), we've never gone alone. We went once with my Brother and Sister-in-Law, once with my Mom and spent most of our last trip with Erik's Brother and his boyfriend. While vacationing with friends and family is fun, for us...nothing beats going away together. It's a great time to relax, reconnect and just spend some time having fun together, like we used to before we became "real" adults with real responsibilities like jobs and a mortgage.

WHEN

We'll be heading down February 10-17, 2011. Our longest trip to The World yet! Erik's excited because this trip coincides with his birthday (February 16) and I'm excited because...well...let's be honest, it's a trip to Disney! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather and no flight delays up here in New Jersey!

WHERE

Ah yes, one of the most important factors of the trip, the where.

• 2007 trip = All-Stars Music. Afterwards, Erik said never again unless it's all we could afford (a value)
• 2009 Fall trip = Coronado Springs Resort. Definitely a nice upgrade from a value and we thought it was great.
• 2009 Christmas trip = Boardwalk Villas. We rented points and managed to have a Christmas-season stay at BWV for $95 per night. There is no beating that, and consider us officially spoiled now.

I'm more than happy to stay at POP again (and did, on a recent no DH trip) but to make sure Erik got maximum enjoyment out of this trip, I decided that renting DVC points again would be the way to go. We were lucky enough to rent again at Boardwalk Villas and this go-round, we have a Boardwalk View room the entire stay, which I can only imagine will be so nice for Erik's Birthday and Valentine's Day. Who wouldn't like sitting on their balcony with an adult beverage and dessert watching Illuminations?

 

[tybrilinja]

Great start Ann! I am jealous of your hotel. Someday, maybe when the kids are all out of the house! I'm subbing and can't wait for the rest.

 

[vettegirl]

Joining in for the food and the fun!

 

[kisobel]

say ten hail mickeys and you will be forgiven. good luck with the next dining review.

kate

 

[MickeyNicki]

Happy Anniversary Ann! Feb is a great time to go, the weather is so nice and the crowds are low.

 

[annnewjerz]

Great start Ann! I am jealous of your hotel. Someday, maybe when the kids are all out of the house! I'm subbing and can't wait for the rest.

Hey, never say never! Like I said, our trip in December was $95 per night renting DVC points for a studio at Boardwalk Villas...that's not much more than the cost of a Value resort and the room sleeps 4 people!

Joining in for the food and the fun!

Welcome! I joined in on your dining reviews also, looking forward to hearing about F&W Fest, we've never been!

say ten hail mickeys and you will be forgiven. good luck with the next dining review.

kate

Happy Anniversary Ann! Feb is a great time to go, the weather is so nice and the crowds are low.

Thank you! I went on a 4-day trip this past February with my neighbors and the crowds were awesome. The weather was a bit hit or miss (one day was around 80 and sunny, the next was 55 and overcast) but that's a compromise I'm willing to make. When we came back from our trip, it was 11 degrees in NJ...so even 55 is a welcome break from the cold!

 

[annnewjerz]

First, I feel like I should get this out of the way....

One day closer to our trip.

Now I've given you the "who, when and where" so it's time for the

WHY

This year I took a DH-less trip to The World in February. He insisted he didn't want to come, after all---we had been to WDW three times in as many years. Only once I got there, I could tell he regretted his decision. Typical!

So, about 3 months ago while sitting at dinner I was reminiscing with my neighbors about the trip we had taken in February and Erik chimes in that if I wanted to go back this year---he'd go! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Hold the phones!! This was soooooo unlike Erik that I had to give myself a minute to process what had just happened. I asked if he was serious and he said yes! Well, just like any other good Disneyholic, that got the wheels turning. We didn't have enough vacation time left this year to go because of an earlier 10-day trip to Mexico. We also didn't have the money. BUT, not one to be discouraged, I started to realize we could swing a trip in February and the ball just kept rolling downhill from there.

A bit of back-story for those who may be interested...

September 2007 - Erik's first trip to Disney. We went and had a great time---but between the Value resort, bickering with our trip-mates, September heat and commando touring style I insisted on to make sure he saw "everything" he wasn't exactly sold on WDW.

October 2009 - 3-day trip to attend MNSSHP for my birthday. Great trip, but again---not ideal. We spent our one full day with Erik's Brother and boyfriend, we only had one day in the parks and traveling down and back from NJ for just a 2-night trip was exhausting.

December 2009 - Our "dream" trip to WDW for the Christmas season. We went in early December, stayed at the Boardwalk with the Deluxe DDP, saw La Nouba. Everything was going great, until on the first full day of the trip, we got the news that Erik's Grandfather had passed away. Unfortunately, between having to change flights, make arrangements to head up to New England after we got back along with the emotion that came along with a death in the family...the trip sort of ended up a flop.

So...I want this trip to make up for the others that have gone anything but according to plan! We are going alone, which will probably make a huge difference for us. We're staying at BWV again, which Erik loved. We're tentatively planning on the DxDDP so we can spend every night relaxing and having a nice signature dinner.

Basically, it's now or never. This is the trip that makes or breaks whether Erik actually admits that he likes Disney, or the trip that puts the nail in the coffin so to speak. I don't expect Erik to become Disney obsessed, but getting home and having him tell me how much fun he had would be a nice change.

 

[annnewjerz]

I've decided there is a MAJOR downside to spending so much time planning ADRs, reading reviews and hanging around the Restaurants Board in general...it makes me HUUUUUNGRY! My lunch break isn't for another 30 minutes and I feel like I could eat my arm off right now.

So, to tide me over or at the very least provide some distraction for myself, I thought I'd share a little taste of food porn.


Ann's Favorite Appetizers in The World

Both appetizers are from...

Scallops over short ribs and cauliflower puree.

Yellowfin Tuna Tartare.

I love seafood and this is some of the best I've had anywhere. ::insert drooling smiley here::

 

[annnewjerz]

DAY 1 FOOD PLANS

We'll be arriving at MCO around 3:30pm on February 10th. Because we decided to take a later than usual flight (usually we leave on the first flight of the morning), I'm not necessarily planning on doing a park this first night...especially since hours are short due to off-season crowds.

By the time we get to the Boardwalk Villas, it should be around 5:00pm. We won't have eaten since lunch at the Philadelphia Airport, so to hold us over I'm going to recommend...

Snack No. 1 Split something from the Boardwalk Bakery. Hopefully the peanut butter cupcake, because why not start off the trip with something completely horrible for you?

Then, for our dinner at 7:30pm, we have this restaurant booked:

Dinner No. 1 Flying Fish Cafe! FFC is a favorite of ours. The seafood is delish, we love the locationon the Boardwalk and we've always had great meals there, the best being our December 2009 trip when we sat at the counter next to the kitchen. Our server (Rogerio) was fantastic---attentive, informative and friendly. The food was delish!! Here are some favorites (and probably what we'll order again---why fix it if it isn't broken, right?)

Tuna sushi and potato wrapped snapper for me.

Sesame and togarashi scented calamari and salmon for Erik.

DAY 1 RECAP: Boardwalk Bakery snack, Flying Fish Cafe dinner. Any recommendation for awesome treats/dishes at either of these places?

 

[annnewjerz]

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS FOOD PLANS

Day 4 is our first (and only) day in DHS, and with it comes more dining plans!

Breakfast No. 1 Breakfast is going to be a quickie! My thought is that we'll either a) grab something at the Boardwalk Bakery if the line isn't out the door (it wasn't ever crazy busy around 7:00am on our past trips) or b) we'll head over to Starring Rolls Cafe for breakfast. A pastry for Erik and a cupcake for me! Mmmmmmmmm.

Lunch No. 1 Lunch today will be at...

We had a good lunch here on our trip in December 2009 and ever since we left I've been dreaming of what I'm going to order...

Last trip, Erik and I split a crab-cake as an appetizer. I remember it being really tasty and stuffed full with crab, not much filler.

For my entree, I got this...can't you just taste the deliciousness? I get mine without the bleu cheese and it's perfection.

It was good beyond explanation and I haven't had a proper Cobb Salad since.

Erik got some sort of steak with potatoes. That was the one dish we weren't crazy about. Yes, it was as dry as it looks. Does anyone have any recommendations for my carnivore Husband's entree this go around? The porkchop looked great in a recent picture I saw.

Unfortunately for dessert, we got something that I no longer see on the menu...it was a cheesecake with a shortbread crust. I am typically not a cheesecake lover, but this was deeeeeeeeeeeeelish!

All in all, we decided it was worthwhile to return. We have the first reservation of the day and I'm secretly hoping that since DH's birthday is noted on the trip, he'll be the one that cuts the ribbon---even if I'm sure he has no interest.


Dinner No. 2 Dinner for this night is a toss-up right now. I'm going to leave it open and skip the reservations, because I've decided this trip I'll try to stick to one advanced-booked ADR for most-days and then look up same-day ADRs or try walk-ups for the rest of the places we're going to eat. This trip, we are looking forward to trying some new places at the Swan & Dolphin since we've had such luck at bluezoo...so we will either try somewhere new like Il Mulino tonight, or instead hit up a tried and true place that Erik enjoys---ESPN Club.

And finally...

Dessert & Drinks No. 1 If we're still feeling up for it when the night it winding down, we'll stop at Sci-Fi for the last ADR time for the night (8:50pm). We aren't planning to eat a meal here, but we love at least stopping in for some adult-milkshakes and I figured it would be a good way to close out the night at DHS. The walk out of the park when it's closed will be a good opportunity to take some pictures without anyone in them. Bonus!

 

[annnewjerz]

Just giving this thing a quick bump since I'm the last thread on page 1 right now. I vowed not to slip to page 2 because it's a fine line between page 2 and slipping into oblivion!

On a trip related note, I'm torn trying to decide if we should do the Deluxe Dining Plan or not. We did the DxDDP in 2009 and thought it was great. A little too many desserts, but we had no problem just skipping them some meals.

On one hand, since this is a DH and Me only trip---I want to schedule 2 ADRs a day (including a signature dinner each night) and I love the prepaid aspect of the plan. On the other hand, I would like to be a little more loose in our scheduling this trip and I'm worried that we won't want to be tied to 2 ADRs every day and obviously I'd hate to use the credits for a CS meal if I didn't have to.

Think I should go Deluxe, or just pay OOP as we go?? I want to make sure I get my ADRs in as final a form as possible by 10/25!

 

[annnewjerz]

MAGIC KINGDOM FOOD PLANS

Day 3 will be taking us to my favorite park...the place where I could spend all my time if I was given the choice...

Ahhhh, isn't it a beautiful sight? I know for most that feeling of being in Disney happens when they see the castle, but for me it's the train station.

Breakfast no. 2 Our second breakfast of the trip will be our first sit-down, rather than just grabbing some odds and ends from the Boardwalk Bakery. We'll be headed to the Crystal Palace for an 8:05am reservation. I love that empty stroll down Main Street. This reservation is one place I probably won't have many food porn pics from since it's a buffet, but here are some shots I've taken during some past trips.

My neighbors who joined me on our last trip...

First time meeting a character...

This is one ADR I'm most looking forward to, even if characters hold no appeal for me.


Lunch no. 2 Our second lunch of the trip will be up in the air. On one hand I'd like to try somewhere new, like splitting a meal Liberty Tree Tavern. The fried cheese looks good, the burger is probably slightly better than a CS location and the ooey gooey cake looks drool-worthy. On the other hand I'm sure we will still be stuffed from our huge breakfast, so I'm thinking splitting a CS meal would be better. We'll see! For now, I have a 1:15pm ADR booked for LTT and if we decide we aren't in the mood to split a meal there, we'll head over to Casey's, since I've never tried that either.

Stolen from the Disney Food Blog

Dinner no. 3 For our third dinner of the trip, we're trying somewhere new---so no pics, sorry! I had DH review the menus from a few signatures and pick out which ones sounded best and one of them was the California Grill. In all honesty, this is one restaurant I've been having a hard time accepting. From what I've been told, the food is awesome, the service is great and watching the fireworks from the Contemporary is something to experience at least once. Unfortunately, this restaurant just doesn't excite me. We are going right around Wishes, so I imagine it'll be loud---which isn't my idea of a good dinner. Plus, I would imagine it's the one meal we may have to wait for a table since we have a 7:15pm reservation and Wishes starts at 8:00pm. Does anyone have any recommendations or glowing reviews I can read to help me get excited?