Gone But Not Forgotten – My Family's 10 Days of DDP (with Pictures!) - Updated 4/7

[IckyMickey]

I also made autograph cards once I returned home. I had them sign blank 4x6cards so I didn't have to worry about finding them and then printed them up over the siggie's after. Noone can even tell. Those people are talented!

cant wait for more. yummmm

I saw your Avatar and someone else has somethng similar. Love that costume!

DS7 when he was 6 months:

 

[IckyMickey]

Breakfast at the Pepper Market

Oops, I forgot all about our breakfast at the Pepper Market at CSR! When we stayed at CSR in 2008 the Pepper Market had fabulous food! My DH loved their steak, I loved their choices and we were all happy! There was some concern that they weren’t going to be on the DDP in 2009, and I was happy happy when they were. I had read that the menu had been changed and there were only certain items for lunch and different items for supper. I wasn’t that worried as they had lots of great food and they certainly couldn’t take off everything I loved. Could they????

The one food item I missed most from Disney was their breakfast burrito from CSR. It was sooo yummy and they put cheese sauce on top of it (yes, once again cheese sauce!) I was in LOVE!

DH went and picked up 2 breakfasts, while I got the boys ready. When he came back and I ran to him with open arms and snatched that take box from his hand. Then I opened up my beloved box and had a bit of a tantrum. There was absolutely no cheese sauce on this burrito! 365 days I waited for this baby, I dreamt of it, pictured it, and it wasn’t what I remembered.

Apparently in my tirade, I didn't take any pictures. I was so upset I didn’t even want to eat it. In all fairness to DH who was being nice, I didn’t give him specific instructions to make sure there was cheese sauce on the burrito. I just thought that at the PM it automatically came with it.

So, here’s what we got:

1 Breakfast Burrito without cheese, 1 hot chocolate and 1 cranberry juice.

1 French Toast, 1 coffee and 1 apple juice.


2CS Used
Total Covered by DDP $34.24



CSR – Pepper Market for Dinner

So, we did PM for breakfast, had Sci-Fi for lunch and then headed over to Blizzard Beach for the afternoon. We closed BB and headed back to CSR to get ready for the night. We were having the PM for dinner as one of our CS. We arrived and were seated in a half full (at most) restaurant. We had a waitress but she disappeared halfway through the meal. We had to ask another waitress for refills. As I said in the previous post, we loved PM’s food last year. I was wonderful. It was delicious. It really stunk this year. No more nachos for dinner, no more steak fajitas, no Chinese. There was barely anything to pick from and the Allears menu was outdated. I was soooo disappointed.

I finally decided to order the Margarita Pizza. I really wanted the Shrimp, Goat Cheese & Pesto pizza like Allears had listed, but it wasn’t there either. This pizza was cheese and tomatoes. There was so much dough and so little of everything else. I ended up just eating the inside of the pizza, but there wasn’t even any flavor.

DS13 finally decided to order the Traditional Pizza – cheese, sausage and pepperoni. Again, so much dough. He too ate the inside and left the crust. Both pizzas were made fresh so they took about 10 minutes.

DH ordered the Chargrilled Steak with French fries and sautéed vegetables. Last year they had a ribeye that was amazing! This year DH actually said how bad it was. He was very disappointed and for him to say something, it had to be bad. Cost $13.99

They really did downgrade from 2008. Here was DH's ribeye in 2008 for $23.99.

DS7 ordered the Child pizza with an orange slice, potato chips (they only had sour cream and onion flavor though!?) a milk and chocolate chip cookie. This was apparently the winner of the night. He loved it and chowed it down.

The saving grace of the night were the desserts. They still have a great dessert case to choose from. Although I did notice there were fewer choices than last year, it still took us awhile to choose one! I don’t know what they were, but they were very good.

Check-out Time: 5:27 pm

4 CS Used
Total Covered by DDP: $65.03


Here are pictures of their other desserts:

 

[martinolichfamily]

Awww....that little Mickey costume is just too cute!! Love it!!

Great job on the shirts! I too am going to make shirts for our trip at least the kids anyways...not sure that DH wants to wear matchy shirts the whole time! lol I will be good to get him to do it 3 times! I may see if they have DS name in the Star Wars theme....I needed a shirt for him for our HS day...DD is wearing Little Einsteins...don't think DS wants that!! haha

 

[SlippinFalls]

Wow! I will have to check out that Design Board!
Those autograph cards are such a cool idea. Perfect for scrapbooking!

Those desserts at Pepper Market look so good!
I'm a chocoholic and I think I would love them all!

 

[Disneyof3]

Keep up the reviews they are great and love the pictures

 

[MommaMouse411]

omg I love the bread pudding at the buffetts. I am so cravingn one right now...

 

[dancin Disney style]

The absolute worst meal we had on our last trip was at Pepper Market. We had stayed at CSR in the past so had many meals at PM and at that time the food was great. We decided to go there last year because it of the better choices for CS. MY DH had the roast chicken and it was stome cold....he took it back to get another one and it wasn't much better. I had the steak and the grill guy forgot to put mine on so I asked what the hold up was after the 3 people in line behind me got their food. When I finally got mine the reat of our group was finished eating. The steak was way over done and the vegggies were mushy and barely warm. I agree that the desserts were the best part of the meal.

We also found it really odd that at 7pm the place was totally empty. Besides us there was about 3 other tables that were occupied. The staff was all standing around chatting.

 

[IckyMickey]

Awww....that little Mickey costume is just too cute!! Love it!!

Great job on the shirts! I too am going to make shirts for our trip at least the kids anyways...not sure that DH wants to wear matchy shirts the whole time! lol I will be good to get him to do it 3 times! I may see if they have DS name in the Star Wars theme....I needed a shirt for him for our HS day...DD is wearing Little Einsteins...don't think DS wants that!! haha

I see your Star Wars one is already ready. I found that it takes some time figuring out how to make them, but once you do, you can fly through them. I bought my transfer paper from WalMart and it worked good. Now that you've got a box of 10 you might as well make a few more!

I was only going to make DS7 some and a few others. Then DS13 saw they looked pretty cool and wanted a few and I made 3 for DH - the Star Wars one - he's a SW buff, a matching Goofy and the Conquoring the World One Beer at a Time for Epcot. Those tight necked tshirt just aren't my thing so I didn't make a single one for myself. I did color coordinate though.

They do lots of princess designs on the threads over there too!

Wow! I will have to check out that Design Board!
Those autograph cards are such a cool idea. Perfect for scrapbooking!

Those desserts at Pepper Market look so good!
I'm a chocoholic and I think I would love them all!

I bought the boys each a photo album down there and then we put the picture with the autograph in the books. That way we were able to add other memorable pictures to their books as well. I did 4x6 pages that said which day it was and what we were doing. I also put in their tickets, and other momentos. A nice remembrance for each. The only problem this year is I bought the 100 picture one instead of the 200. What was I thinking.

You can also get chocolate croissants and DS13 for lunch chose churros - not just 1 but he got 3 and they were delicious!

Keep up the reviews they are great and love the pictures

Thanks!

omg I love the bread pudding at the buffetts. I am so cravingn one right now...

There's something about Disney food that can't be replaced anywhere else. We travel 1261.4 miles from my house to CSR (I mapquested it) so when the food isn't like you remember, it's a BIG bummer. You can't just try it again next month!

The absolute worst meal we had on our last trip was at Pepper Market. We had stayed at CSR in the past so had many meals at PM and at that time the food was great. We decided to go there last year because it of the better choices for CS. MY DH had the roast chicken and it was stome cold....he took it back to get another one and it wasn't much better. I had the steak and the grill guy forgot to put mine on so I asked what the hold up was after the 3 people in line behind me got their food. When I finally got mine the reat of our group was finished eating. The steak was way over done and the vegggies were mushy and barely warm. I agree that the desserts were the best part of the meal.

We also found it really odd that at 7pm the place was totally empty. Besides us there was about 3 other tables that were occupied. The staff was all standing around chatting.

Even when they had good food, they were still half full, which I was glad about. Sometimes I think part of the problem is the language barrier - a lot of nodding goes on. In 2008 something similar happened with DH's steak - except someone else took it. We went there for lunch on Day 9 and I don't want to spoil it, but their menu and food were MUCH better for lunch than for dinner. I wish we had had a car that evening and then we would have gone over to Pop! I really missed eating there this year.

 

[DisneyDancin7]

I love your reviews!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[dancin Disney style]

The absolute worst meal we had on our last trip was at Pepper Market. We had stayed at CSR in the past so had many meals at PM and at that time the food was great. We decided to go there last year because it of the better choices for CS. MY DH had the roast chicken and it was stome cold....he took it back to get another one and it wasn't much better. I had the steak and the grill guy forgot to put mine on so I asked what the hold up was after the 3 people in line behind me got their food. When I finally got mine the reat of our group was finished eating. The steak was way over done and the vegggies were mushy and barely warm. I agree that the desserts were the best part of the meal.

We also found it really odd that at 7pm the place was totally empty. Besides us there was about 3 other tables that were occupied. The staff was all standing around chatting.

Just read my own post....so many typos The food must have clouded my mind.

 

[YESSIGUZMAN]

LOVE YOUR TR! how did you make those autograph cards

 

[martinolichfamily]

I see your Star Wars one is already ready. I found that it takes some time figuring out how to make them, but once you do, you can fly through them. I bought my transfer paper from WalMart and it worked good. Now that you've got a box of 10 you might as well make a few more!

I was only going to make DS7 some and a few others. Then DS13 saw they looked pretty cool and wanted a few and I made 3 for DH - the Star Wars one - he's a SW buff, a matching Goofy and the Conquoring the World One Beer at a Time for Epcot. Those tight necked tshirt just aren't my thing so I didn't make a single one for myself. I did color coordinate though.

They do lots of princess designs on the threads over there too!

I think I have plenty of different designs now for the kids shirts...they are set! Now...to just go get myself a new printer! Ours blew out when the transformer blew out w/our electrical! Hoping next week I can get a new printer! Where did you buy your shirts at?

 

[Denzbrujah]

As a fellow DISigner It always makes me proud to see the smiles that come from the DISigns we create ....

 

[scanne]

Love your reviews!

My DS7 happened to be reading along with me when I got to the ice cream cookie sandwich and his eyes bugged out of his head. He said, "are we gonna get that, mom?" and I said, "of course!" and he nearly fell off his chair! LOL!!!

Question - how do you do the designs for the tee-shirts and make the transfers? I love the Star Wars designs and I'd love to make shirts for my family for our trip this year! What an awesome idea!!!

If you'd like to PM me, that's fine. I'd really appreciate it!!!

Thanks for sharing your awesome reviews!

 

[WDisneyMom]

GREAT Dining Reviews! Also, we were at CSR the same exact time you were!! We were in the Cabanas section...where were you?

 

[WDisneyMom]

We ate at Pepper Market a couple of times and in my mini-review, I said the same things...It was awful!! I couldn't wait to try the chargrilled steak and after a couple of bites, I was done eating. So gross!

 

[lindsayp]

all caught up! great reviews can't wait to hear more

 

[FloraFauna]

I loved reading your reviews and seeing your pictures. They made me smile a few times. The picture of the chocolate whiskey cake from Le Cellier was wonderful. I can't wait to try that on our next trip.

Also, you have a beautiful family.

 

[IckyMickey]

I love your reviews!!!

Thank you so much for sharing!

Thanks! It's addicting and then I have to catch up with real life and feel like I'm gone for a long time!

Just read my own post....so many typos The food must have clouded my mind.

That happens to me all the time! My mind is already thinking about something else and my fingers are still typing the old stuff.

LOVE YOUR TR! how did you make those autograph cards

I've put the link in my siggie to all the DISigns I used. Check out who did them and then go to their photobucket account. Find the ones you want, right click and copy. You can also copy things right off their posts by highlighting and copying. Then put them in a publisher type computer program where you can crop them to 4x6 or whatever size you want. Then print. DH helped and monkeyed around with it. I'm sure someone on that board can tell you if you're having problems.

I loved that I just pulled out blank cards and decorated them later. It was easier than trying to find the cards while standing in line waiting your turn.

I think I have plenty of different designs now for the kids shirts...they are set! Now...to just go get myself a new printer! Ours blew out when the transformer blew out w/our electrical! Hoping next week I can get a new printer! Where did you buy your shirts at?

I had to add the expense of another black and color cartridge to those tshirts. Oh well, I'm glad I did them! I bought the tshirts from Michael's crafts. On sale they're about $2.50 each.

As a fellow DISigner It always makes me proud to see the smiles that come from the DISigns we create ....

DISigners are amazing! I don't know how they create their things, much less find time. I know several don't personalize any more. but I can certainly understand that. I can't even keep my own thread updated!

GREAT Dining Reviews! Also, we were at CSR the same exact time you were!! We were in the Cabanas section...where were you?

We were in the Cabanas also -building 8B. I had requested 8A with 8B being my second choice. We had a parking lot view, but that wasn't a big deal. There was no noise and I "liked" being able to see which buses we had just missed. We met a lot of nice people by the pool and on the bus - I wonder if we talked to you ever? Also, Kathy does a great job with the CSR thread! She deserves a lot of credit!

One of the college basketball teams (Pittsburgh?) arrived on Tuesday and that was cool. We never saw or heard them, other than their arrival when we were outside walking and they stayed in Bldg 9A.

We ate at Pepper Market a couple of times and in my mini-review, I said the same things...It was awful!! I couldn't wait to try the chargrilled steak and after a couple of bites, I was done eating. So gross!

Pepper Market was such an asset to CSR. It was very disappointing to see what happened to their menu and food in one year.

all caught up! great reviews can't wait to hear more

Thanks! Glad you're hanging around!

I loved reading your reviews and seeing your pictures. They made me smile a few times. The picture of the chocolate whiskey cake from Le Cellier was wonderful. I can't wait to try that on our next trip.

Also, you have a beautiful family.

Thanks! Doing this review reminded me of the great times we had on vacation! The boys looks so happy in their pictures together, to bad they don't get along like that all the time.

Love your reviews!

My DS7 happened to be reading along with me when I got to the ice cream cookie sandwich and his eyes bugged out of his head. He said, "are we gonna get that, mom?" and I said, "of course!" and he nearly fell off his chair! LOL!!!

Question - how do you do the designs for the tee-shirts and make the transfers? I love the Star Wars designs and I'd love to make shirts for my family for our trip this year! What an awesome idea!!!

If you'd like to PM me, that's fine. I'd really appreciate it!!!

Thanks for sharing your awesome reviews!

Those ice cream sandwiches are awesome. I love that their a snack credit and that I don't have to wory about wasting money if we don't eat it all.

I'll PM you about the tshirts. Hopefully soon!

 

[Stepharia]

Lovin' your TR. Your t-shirts were to cute. I love making matching shirts for our trips. The DISigners are awesome! That is the first time I'd seen the postcards for signatures, that is such a great idea, I think I might have to do that for our trip in Dec.