Free Dining Plan ROCKS

[tweetylori]

This was our first experience with the Disney Dining Plan, and our first stay-on-property full Disney immersion experience. Two of us (Husband and I) stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter for three nights, January 25th through 28th.

Having now experienced "free" Disney dining, I don't know that we will ever do it another way! Our package included three table service, three counter service and three snacks each. One of each per night stay is how they figure it, but we loved that it doesn't matter when you use them or how many per day.

As many of you do as well, I perused the boards, drooled over food porn and read as many reviews as I could get my eyes on before making suggestions to Husband for our Advanced Dining Reservations. Armed with a 5:00 Saturday reservation for Raglan Road, we flew to Orlando that day, picked up our rental car, drove to our resort, checked in, then took the shuttle boat to Downtown Disney with only a few minutes to spare for our first free meal.

I'm happy to report that I took plenty of pics and if you're ready, I'm ready to bring 'em on! I also promise to keep this report abbreviation-free! I have such a hard time sometimes figuring out what all the abbreviations stand for, that I am vowing to keep this one devoid of them.

Now let me see if I can remember how to post a pic. If this works, this should be the one of our free refillable mugs that we got after checking in.

 

[tweetylori]

On to Raglan Road!

This place is charming even before you arrive...check out their website! Seriously one of the best restaurant websites ever. I just love their sense of humor! When we recently found ourselves in possession of "free" Disney dining for several days, we (I, but he agreed) chose Raglan Road based on the killer-looking menu. Bring on character and flavor!

Just like any Disney dining, make reservations! We had them for 5:00 on a Saturday night in off-season (January) and we needed them. Just sayin'...otherwise try to enter at your own risk. We have done so easily in the past, but only for a Guinness or two at the bar. This time, we were ready (at the start of our Disney adventure), to do this place right, with a full meal.

We were seated in a room off to the side, but reassured that the dancers would appear there as well. This proved to be true, but honestly, the main show was in the main room, and it would have been super cool to be in there. Oh well, we were semi-cool at a small table for two in the side room. We were lucky to get a charming Server from Massachusetts, and being in the side room is slightly less loud, so we could actually hear what she was saying.

The main star here is the FOOD. The bread they bring to start comes with a sweet dipping sauce, and is lighter than soda breads I've had elsewhere.


The Kiss Before Shrimp appetizer we ordered was a spice-lover's dream. Dreamy red chilies and tons of garlic in butter, and oh yes, shrimp. Plus more bread to sop up all the spicy butter. We wanted to kiss the Chef!



Husband had the Serious steak and he seriously liked it. It was cooked to his medium order, with mashed taters and giant onion rings.





I had to try the Gnocchi Sea Gnocchi Do and I seriously liked it as well. Gnocchi can go wrong so fast, but they know what they're doing here. These little pillows were light and fabulous. The scallops were perfectly cooked, and it all came together with limas, tomato, kale, crispy pork belly, white wine butter sauce.



If all that wasn't good enough, we couldn't waste a bit of our free dining plan, so we each chose a dessert...Black Forest Kiss and Fluffy Lemon Clouds. Husband ended up eating most of the Kiss, as it turned out to not be my fave...heavy on the cherry flavor (he liked), and slightly dry.




The lemon meringue tart was more my thing...more meringue than anything else, but light and tasty.



This turned out to be a wise and tasty use of our Disney dining dollars (as well of our "real" dollars). Loved it! Our total bill here was $131.09. $77.74 was free, which was the two entrees and the two desserts. We paid out-of-pocket $53.35 (plus gratuity, of course). That $53.35 was for the appetizer and drinks.

 

[tweetylori]

Later that night, after walking off all that food around Downtown Disney and hitting up Disney Quest, we decided to hop the boat back to the French Quarter to check out Scat Cats Lounge for drinks and live music. Shuttle boat to go back to the resorts, by the way, is near Rainforest Cafe:



It was nice to have this place to go to for a drink (or two or three) in our French Quarter resort. They only have one bartender at any given time(it's a small bar, so understandable). There was a gal bartender this night who was working hard and was very friendly.

That being said getting drinks requires patience, as there's a place to order at the bar that involves standing in line for awhile. There is NO table service, and I don't know if the bartender would even serve you at the bar unless you are standing at the "order" part. (we didn't try that as the bar was full)

We started with a glass of wine for me and a Smoked Turkey for Husband






Entertainment was Tom Casey who plays a keyboard and sings a WIDE variety of tunes. This particular night he was leaning more rock (Springsteen's Born to Run was his best). He's not the best singer on the planet, and is fairly devoid of personality, but it was still nice to have live music.



Since I had stood in line forever to get our first round, Husband was kind enough to run over to the store to find me some cheese popcorn. Instead of plain cheese popcorn he came back with this:




Bacon cheese popcorn? Really, Honey? He swore they didn't have any plain cheese. Anyway, it really grew on me, and that big bag managed to go down way too quickly.

Drinks are in the ten-eleven dollar range, by the way. Wine $9.

 

[tweetylori]

The next day we decided to skip breakfast and get the magic going at the Magic Kingdom. We couldn't think of a better-sounding brunch than some seafood at Columbia House. We arrived around 10:50 and they were already open...yeah!

Time to try our first Disney Dining Plan counter-service!

I had read great things about the sandwiches here, but I really wanted something hot (it was cool out), and so did Husband, so we both ordered the Fried Shrimp, although I got mine with broccoli and he got fries. It comes with cocktail sauce and coleslaw. We each got unsweetened iced tea and the cobbler-of-the-day.




Steal for the dining plan, by the way! That being said, it was good even if you're paying outright. But do know that you must like heavily breaded shrimp, because this is very heavily breaded. Although done so well! Crispy on the outside. I did find myself pulling off some of the breading, personally, but Husband was fine with them just like they were. (gave him a couple of mine also).

Broccoli is steamed and slightly underdone. I like it that way. My suggestion is to grab a knife, cut it up, and get some honey mustard to dip it in. Also recommend mixing bbq sauce with ketchup for a tasty dip for the good fries. They give you cocktail sauce, but tartar is an option at the condiment station. I do love sauces and they do it well here.

Cobbler was very good. It was either a mixed berry or blueberry. Tasty!

Because condiments, utensils and napkins are at stations, I would recommend dividing and conquering to help ensure hot food by the time you sit down to eat. If you wait til you get your food to go grab everything, it may or may not be warm, especially if you keep forgetting things like we did!

The free dining plan saved us around $35 for this feast. I don't know the exact amount, as the receipt we got says ZERO on it. Gotta love that! But my memory saw around $35 on the register before it zero'd out.

 

[FiggieFan]

Dang! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the pic of the gnocchi and scallops. I have been debating what to try next at Raglan and that is it! We will be there next weekend, and I have to follow it up with bread pudding which is to die for. Can't wait!

 

[tweetylori]

Dang! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the pic of the gnocchi and scallops. I have been debating what to try next at Raglan and that is it! We will be there next weekend, and I have to follow it up with bread pudding which is to die for. Can't wait!

It was a pic I saw of the gnocchi and scallops that someone else had posted that made me want to go there too

It was very rich though. We were too full to do the giant bread pudding dessert. Maybe if we hadn't gotten the shrimp, we could have done it. But the shrimp was so good, I have no regrets. Jealous that you're going next weekend!

 

[tweetylori]

For our next counter-service adventure, I had hoped for a walk-in Be Our Guest experience. Unfortunately, I failed to do proper research ahead of time. I knew they served lunch and dinner, but didn't realize they CLOSE in between. So, my idea of going at an "off" time to avoid the crowds FAILED. Sadly we never got to see the inside...WAH!

So we headed over to Pecos Bill instead. Like Columbia Harbour House, we had never tried Pecos Bill. Despite being an "off" time (no such thing at Disney, huh?) the place was crowded chaos! But we were hungry and in possession of free dining, so we stood in line. Ordered. Paid. Waited in another line. It's fascinating to watch them work...what a huge operation!

You're handed your food and drinks on a tray, then it's all for one and one for all fighting the masses to get to the condiments, plasticware, toppings bar...then the worst of all, trying to find a clean place to land to eat. Once you do, your food may or may not be still warm.

That being said, it was all surprisingly good. The bbq pork was the star of our show. Very tasty. Burger was quite good also, and so were both the sweet potato fries and the regular ones. We also tried the chocolate cake and the carrot cake. Both were very rich and sweet as desserts should be. (and thankfully not any bigger, since free dining is very bad for one's waistline!).



I would certainly eat here again, but would plan better...as suggested with Columbia Harbour House it would probably be best to divide and conquer to ensure hotter food.

 

[tweetylori]

Walking through the Storybook Circus at some point, we found these tantalizing Big Top Treats!







This would have been a great place to use some of those snack credits, but we were too full...maybe next time!

 

[tweetylori]

I forgot to mention that once again we saved around $35 for that Pecos Bill experience. Again, our receipt says ZERO, but my memory of the register total for the burger, bbq sandwich, fries, sweet potato fries, two teas and two desserts was indeed around $35. So far on this Sunday, we've had $70 worth of free dining, and coming up is our second Table Service...the one and only almighty and oh-so- controversial 'Ohana!

First however...we arrived a tad early for our Sunday night 8:20 'Ohana reservation, so we hopped onto a couple bar stools and enjoyed stellar service and drinks.

We started with a glass of wine for me and a Rye Manhattan for Husband






Husband was quite fond of this Rye Manhattan topped off with the same gourmet cherries that seem to be the in-thing with bourbon/whiskey drinks these days. He said he liked it better than the Smoked Turkey from the night before.

It didn't take me long to succumb to trying a Blue Glow-tini! (when in Rome, ya know? or should I say Polynesia?)




This delightful glowing glass of refreshing (and surprisingly not too too sweet) liquid sure makes one go...ahhhh, I'm on vacation in a magical place! What's not to like about vanilla vodka, blue curacao, and peach schnapps with a bit of pineapple juice and sour mix? I mean, I glowed all the way home (literally, the cube was still glowing last I looked).

Meanwhile Husband was quite fond of his Rye Manhattan (preferred it to the Smoked Turkey from the night before), topped off with the same gourmet cherries that seem to be the in-thing with bourbon/whiskey drinks these days.

Prices aren't too outrageous either, especially for a resort of this level.

 

[turkey1031]

I've always wanted to get the free dining but since we always go in June or July it's not an option. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Love all the pictures.

 

[tweetylori]

I must admit you all had me SCARED about 'Ohana! The more posts I read before we went about how awful the service was and how downhill it had gone and how bad the food had become, well, I wavered, but still couldn't bring myself to give up our 8:20 reservation. How would I ever know if we didn't try it ourselves?

So a little after 8, I slid off my bar stool to check in for our reservation. Right on time, we were on our way to our first 'Ohana experience. (insert Phantom of the Opera music)

The Hostess grabbed our coconut bread on the way to our table...our perfect table for two at the window overlooking the fireworks. Sigh, a dream come true. EXCEPT for the fact that the darn fireworks had gone off before we got seated. (So much for my planning skills, and who would have thought the fireworks would go off so early on a Sunday night with late magical hours?) Our reservation was for 8:20, I had assumed fireworks would be at 9. So if watching fireworks are important to you, plan better than I did! (not that I had a choice, as 8:20 was the only time a dinner reservation was available that night.) sigh

Anyway, Husband liked the bread. Me, not my thing, as I'm not a coconut fan. Which was a shame because this was a GIANT loaf of bread. Why don't they have smaller ones for smaller tables?



But absolutely everything else after that I was a BIG fan of. Loved the potstickers, chicken wings, the two dipping sauces, the refreshing passion fruit salad, veggies & lo mein.











They had a full house, but service was very good and well-paced.




Then the stars of the show arrived...first sirloin steak cooked to medium juicy perfection. Then some small pieces of dry chicken breast that still had a super grilled flavor. Followed by both of our favorite...the pork. So good! And then came a couple shrimp. All excellent! Here's where they grill them up:



Stuffed, we barely put a dent in the bread pudding, but it tasted good.



Service was wonderful...enjoyed the live entertainment, and both the kids' coconut race and us gals getting lei'd were much classier than they sound. Also loved that at one point they brought us nice hot wet towels to get some of the sticky off.

My ONLY criticism of the whole wonderful dining experience was the portions are way too big. I HATE wasting food. And sadly, most of the giant loaf of bread was wasted, as was a good portion of the giant bowl of salad, the giant platter of veggies and lo mein and the big dessert. Why not do small loaves of bread, and start with smaller portions of the other dishes? Folks can always ask for more!

So I can honestly say that our one 'Ohana experience was not only fun, but seriously close to perfect, wonderfully delicious and an incredible way to use up a dining point each. That being said, if I were paying out of pocket, I don't know that I could eat enough to justify the cost of this feast. Would not hesitate to go back again on the dining plan however! Our total bill was $92.64. Of that $80.92 was free. All we paid out of pocket was $11.72 (for one glass of wine), plus gratuity.

 

[tweetylori]

I've always wanted to get the free dining but since we always go in June or July it's not an option. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Love all the pictures.

Yes, that's the trade-off...must go off-season. Our kids are grown and gone, so it's just the two of us now, so off-season works for us.

Got more pics coming!

 

[tweetylori]

Next up was Monday and our Epcot day. By now we had used two Table Service meals and two Counter Service. We had two Table Service credits left, Two Counter Service and Six snack credits and it was our last full day.

We again decided to skip anything that resembled breakfast at the resort and head to Epcot. We had a 9:50 Soaring Fast Pass+ we didn't want to miss. After doing that first, we decided to share a small breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. (since no lunch options were available yet anyway)

By now we were catching on that we needed to divide and conquer at these counter service places to TRY to end up with warm food. So Husband stood in line and waited for the gal to make a giant breakfast panini and cut it into wedges to be served. (she was not moving quickly, but was making a great product): Breakfast Panini with Eggs, Bacon, Roast Pork, Cheese, and Breakfast Potatoes.




Meanwhile, I was getting Husband's coffee, and my unsweetened ice tea.
We reconnected to stand in line to pay (Husband paid out of pocket for this, thinking we would use our last two counter-services later that day). It was around $14 for the one meal plus the two drinks.

By the time we paid, grabbed utensils, ketchup, a little hot sauce...well, we didn't quite achieve our goal of hot food. Still it was good. Very good. The pork, cheese and herbed foccacia really made that panini. The potatoes had a bit of onion and peppers in them which were nice, even if they had gotten cold.

Not a bad start at all to what would be one of the most memorable eating day of our Disney lives.

Coming up...my favorite of all time (and it wasn't even one of our free Dining meals)...and Husband's favorite (his was).

 

[stitchaholic]

great reviews ! mmmmmmm, the kiss before the shrimp looks so awesome and sounds ahhhhmazing , will be going there this summer , can't wait to try it !

 

[Cadbury]

Yes, it rocks (and so does your review!!)

We had the free dining plan for 17 nights (2 adults, 2 kids) and only paid our gratuity. We had 68 snack points

 

[tweetylori]

great reviews ! mmmmmmm, the kiss before the shrimp looks so awesome and sounds ahhhhmazing , will be going there this summer , can't wait to try it !

It is awesome, as long as you like lots of garlic and chilies!

 

[tweetylori]

Yes, it rocks (and so does your review!!)

We had the free dining plan for 17 nights (2 adults, 2 kids) and only paid our gratuity. We had 68 snack points

Thank you, and oh my gosh, I can't imagine 17 nights of it. Did you go home and eat celery and drink water for 17 days afterwards?

 

[angelsmith52]

Whew! I am so in!!!!! Great so far!

 

[Haygar2]

I CAN NOT wait to try the gnocchi sea Gnocchi do. It will be my birthday dinner and that is what I have already decided on. Your pictures are great. I can't wait for vacation.

 

[wiigirl]

In!