Free DDP reviews! Photos and lots 'o opinions! Updated 11/5 with 50's PT

[Pixiedust34]

We were at WDW from 9/3 to 9/11 and we enjoyed just about every single bite of the free dining plan!

Cast of characters:

Me (39--honest!)
Ds (12 and has a man-sized appetite)
Dd (turned 10 a couple of days before our trip and still thinks that there are only 2 main food groups, mac & cheese and chicken nuggets).

Dh did not travel with this for this trip, but he was missed and will be joining us next time!

Here is where we ate: * = review completed

Resorts
Intermission Food Court at All Star Music*
Whisper Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge*

Downtown Disney
Wolfgang Puck Express

Magic Kingdom
Main Street Bakery*
Casey's Corner*
Cosmic Ray's*

Epcot
Sunshine Seasons*
Coral Reef*
Somerfest*
La Cantina*
Kaki Gori Cart
Chefs de France (plus the beverage stand at France whose name escapes me at the moment)
China's Joy of Tea Cart*
Le Cellier*
Kringla Bakery*

Hollywood Studios
50's Prime Time Cafe*
Mama Melrose's*
ABC Commissary*
Toy Story Pizza Planet (note: we bought only the souvenir mug and not food here)

Animal Kingdom
Tusker House*
Pizzafari*
Yak and Yeti Beverages

Misc.
various popcorn buckets and a few frozen Cokes were bought at misc. places

We had a blast! The free dining worked well, though we had a couple of small issues when dd (10) wanted to order from the kid's menu now and then. We had more than enough credits to cover the meals during our trip and enough snack credits for us to buy some Mickey Rice Krispie Treats to bring home. Overall, it was nice being on the DDP; however on our next trip we plan to pay OOP for our food and eat more cs to stay on a tighter budget.

Reviews will be coming soon and they will be in no particular order. Stay tuned!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Let's kick off our reviews with a drink!

I found a new must-have drink at Epcot, the Peach Oolong Tea Schnapps Slushie from the Joy of Tea stand in Epcot's China. The drink is refreshing and I liked the peach flavor. Also, it's a bit less expensive than some of the other World Showcase adult beverages and it comes in a nice-sized cup. All around, this was a good drink and a good deal!

The cast member told me 4 times (yes, 4) that this is an adult drink when I was buying it. I guess he thought that I was going to give it to the kids. Anyway, I guess it was nice to be warned that the drink can pack a little punch.

Bonus China photo:

We enjoyed the movie in China's pavilion and met Mulan & Mushu!

 

[TarheelPrincess]

Look forward to the rest of your review.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

I'm looking forward to reading about your trip!

 

[HappyCamper87]

Thanks for taking the time to review your experience.

I'm in!

 

[accountingbabe08]

i'm in too can't wait to read more too.

 

[luckytobeme88]

nice report

 

[butiflfeet]

Nice drink! I'll have to try that one when we're there (in only 3 days ). Keep the pics coming, I can't wait to see more food!

 

[HonnyDipp]

I am soooo totally in! Looking forward to the pics!

 

[frdeb1999]

Love the start with the drink pic!! Looking forward to the rest!

 

[TigerKat]

Any review starting out with a drink is going to be enjoyed by ME!

 

[CanadianPaco]

Can't wait to hear more!!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent

 

[Pixiedust34]

I'm so happy that there are Dis'ers reading our reviews! Mama Melrose's is up next.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Mama Melrose's gets a lot of mixed reviews on the Dis. We generally like it. This is the third time we dined at MM, and for us it's the best option for the Fantasmic Dinner Package.

Stepping into Mama Melrose's is like stepping out of a theme park and into your neighborhood Italian restaurant. It's not a fancy atmosphere though it's extremely comfortable and it's the perfect place to take refuge from the heat. You feel at home here! You really do feel as if you're in your own little neighborhood Italian restaurant and you can sit back, relax, and mangia!

I do want to mention that the food is "American" Italian and not "Italian" Italian. If you go in there with the expectation of getting the "American" Italian then you won't be disappointed in the food. I do know some people criticize the food there and I can understand that if they are going in with the expectation of tasting their Italian grandmother's cooking.

Me: Caesar Salad, Chicken Parmesan, tiramisu, iced tea
Ds: Calamari, Four Cheese Flatbread, chocolate gelato, milk
Ds: Artisan Breads and spreads, spaghetti (this was a special order as plain old spaghetti is not on the menu), chocolate gelato, milk

The Caesar salad was excellent, and I liked it better than the other 2 salads (toasted bread salad and mixed greens salad) that I tried here on previous visits. Ds enjoyed his calamari. I did not try this as I don't care for it. Dd shared her bread appetizer with everyone. There was a hearty variety of breads, roasted garlic, and pesto/olive oil for dipping. That was all nice, though plain old butter would have been a nice inclusion.

As for the entrees.......This is the second time I ordered Chicken Parmesan at Mama Melrose's. The chicken was cooked well enough and the pasta was good, but it was an "OK" rather than "outstanding" dish. I did not get a photo because this is when we were having camera issues. Ds enjoyed his four cheese flatbread (read: fancy pizza). Dd said that the spaghetti was OK, too.

Here is dd's spaghetti:

For dessert, the kids opted to try the chocolate gelato and enjoyed it. I tried it and it was good. I ordered the tiramisu. One of my favorite WDW desserts is the tiramisu at Mama Melrose's. It did not disappoint! The texture was soft but not mushy by any means and the taste was a nice blend of coffee, cake, and cream. I am wondering if I can get the same (or almost the same) tiramisu at Starring Rolls on our next trip as we're bypassing Fantasmic Dinner Shows on our next trip.

For the third trip in a row, our DHS day was humid and hot, hot, hot. I gave the kids a choice on whether they wanted to stick it out for a few more hours at the park and see Fantasmic or go back to the resort and swim. They have seen the show and know what the show is like, but they picked swimming. We could have pushed ourselves to stay, however I think that happy kids = a happy vacation and they were more OK with swimming than putting up with the humidity at that point in our day. It turned out that a storm blew in that evening, and I wouldn't have wanted to be sitting in those bleachers getting soaked, so we made a good decision!

We showed up nearly an hour early (hungry plus wanted the a/c break) for our MM ADR time and were seated immediately. We explained to our server that we didn't want our Fantasmic vouchers and asked her to pass them along to another family, and she assured us that she would. Service was prompt and friendly. I was quick with draining my iced tea glasses because of the heat, and she was quick with the refills. Two thumbs up for the service here!

One of our favorite things to do at WDW is hunt for Hidden Mickeys. This statue is at the check-in area of MM and we found a Hidden Mickey on it!

Bonus DHS photo:

We saw part of the Backyard Bash for the first time. What an upbeat parade!

 

[Pixiedust34]

We usually end up eating in Mexico as the location is convenient and there is plenty of seating, though there is no a/c as the seating is all outdoors. The seating is right on the water, which is a nice place to be!

Me: Combination platter, churros, water
Ds: Nachos, churros, water
Dd: kid's meal (quesadilla with nachos), churro, Sprite

The food here is average, though it's a nice change of pace from regular counter service offerings. I usually get a margarita here, but on this trip I wanted to try some new drinks and I passed on the margarita.

(Note: The Tangierine in Morocco is by far our favorite counter service in all of Epcot but we didn't hit it on this trip. The timing wasn't right.)

Kid's meal, churros, combination plate.

I didn't take a photo of ds' nachos because I have a photo of the nachos I ate on our last trip and it looked like the nachos haven't changed since then. I didn't care much for the nachos myself, though ds devoured them! Here is a nachos photo from last year's trip.

Bonus photo of one of our little buddies!

These birds were surrounding our table as we ate, hoping for a handout. No, we didn't feed them. I didn't want to curse the families around us with more begging from the birds.

All in all, it was a nice meal in a nice setting.

 

[MickeyNicki]

That peach schnapps slushie is one of my fav things in Epcot....cannot wait to suck them down next month.

Love your report!

 

[Pixiedust34]

That peach schnapps slushie is one of my fav things in Epcot....cannot wait to suck them down next month.

Love your report!

Thanks!

Now the peach slushie one of my favorite drinks at the World, too!

I had a goal of trying 3 new-to-me drinks on our trip and I did. The other 2 were the Yak Attack at the Yak & Yeti and the Grand Mariner Slushie (of Samantha Brown fame) and those were both good, too!

 

[Pixiedust34]

I've enjoyed the glazed pretzel at the Kringla on another trip and on this trip I gave the school bread a try for the first time. I liked it! The kids wanted the Viking cookies so that's what they had.

I read on another thread that the school bread has recently changed to a caramel and perhaps a toasted coconut (?) pastry, and I'm so glad I had a chance to try the original before the change. I wish they could sell both the new and old versions of the school bread!

 

[plutosgirl]

We could have pushed ourselves to stay, however I think that happy kids = a happy vacation and they were more OK with swimming than putting up with the humidity at that point in our day.

That is the perfect quote!! "Happy kids=Happy Vaca" We try to do the same thing...if the family needs a break (swimming or whatever) we just do it. I don't want to ever be one of those parents in line yelling at the kids "You are in Disney and YOU WILL have fun!"

Loving your reviews so far!! Thanks!