I want what I want so the heck with the Dining Plan!

[CJ]

DH & I just returned yesterday from a 6 night stay at the All Star Sports (followed by three nights at the Doubletree near Universal). It was our 31st wedding anniversary trip and we had a wonderful time!

We've done the basic dining plan in the past, and this time we decided that it just isn't for us. We like sit down meals at nice restaurants and we like to order what we want when we want it! The deluxe plan is just too much food for us, so OOP it was and will be from now on!

DH fractured his leg 5 days before we left and was in a rented electric scooter for the very first time. He's the photographer in the family, and I just didn't have the heart to ask him to worry about pictures too...... so my apologies for that. But I can give you our reviews of a lot of different places!

We ate our breakfasts in our room with food from Garden Grocer. All but one of our other meals were at table service places! Here's where we went at WDW!

House of Blues dinner
Yak & Yeti lunch
Hollywood Brown Derby dinner
Coral Reef lunch
Le Cellier dinner
The Plaza lunch
Tutto Italia dinner
Sci Fi Drive In lunch
Cosmic Ray's & Casey's dinner (our Kona Cafe plan got rained out!)
Les Chefs de France lunch
La Cava del Tequila appetizer
Nine Dragons dinner

Need to rest up a bit before doing the full reviews, but I promise to start tomorrow if you're interested!

 

[mimi'sgirl]

I'm in. Can't wait to read your reviews

 

[Krissalee]

I'm interested! Looking forward to your reviews!

 

[CJ]

A little bit of background info before I get to the important stuff! DH & I are from Ontario, Canada just over the border from Buffalo, New York. We have been together for 35 years and married for 31. We are WDW veterans, but almost every trip has been with our two (now grown) children and I have been three times with just my daughter since she became an adult. DD actually worked at the Canadian Pavilion in Epcot two years ago and I made four trips that year alone (two with DH, and one with him and my father)!

But the only trip DH & I have done totally on our own was during Food & Wine for our 20th anniversary. We stayed at the Beach Club and while we loved it, I decided that from then on the values were the way to go. I’d sooner splurge on food and drinks inside the parks because we spend very little time outside of them!

So there you have it, any more info about the two of us … just ask. Tomorrow I promise I’ll get to the reviews!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

joining in and can't wait to read yummy reviews.

 

[vettegirl]

Sounds like it was a great lineup. No dining plan this time for me as well. The Deluxe did my DH and I in. Way too much food. This time I am using my $200 reward card from my Disney Visa to eat what I want when I want without a ressie or being worried about making it to the ressie.

 

[bluejasmine]

Sounds great cant wait to read more!

 

[CJ]

We checked in to the All Star Sports at 4:00pm on Wednesday August 18th. DH got his electric scooter from Randy's rentals (very good service btw) and we spent a lot of our trip adapting to our new circumstances! Learning how to get on the buses was a challenge all by itself! But that has nothing to do with food... so on with the important stuff!

We had reservations at the 9:00pm Cirque de Soleil show, so I wanted to eat somewhere closeby at Downtown Disney. We've already eaten at Wolfgang Puck's and Ragland Road, so I decided that we would try:

HOUSE OF BLUES

I had made an adr for 7:00pm and we arrived at about 6:30pm. We checked in at the podium and they allowed us to park the scooter inside with the strollers. We only waited about 5 minutes and we were seated.

It is quite a nice largish restaurant, with tables and booths. There is a stage at one end for later entertainment and two levels of seating. It has a nice "bar" feel to it, if you know what I mean. Subdued lighting and darker tones, etc. But I'm sure it gets noisy and boisterous as the evening progresses! Our table for two was quite small (the first of many overly small 2-tops I would discover - but more on that as we progress on with other meals).

Our server was Rob and he was very friendly and efficient. DH had a mohito and I had a Stella Artois (excellent Belgian beer). Surprisingly they do not have any beers on draft . Rob said he thought it was strange too! We relaxed and toasted our anniversary dinner with another round!

DH ordered a salad that is not on the official website's menu:

Field Greens, with blue cheese and pecans in a balsamic vinegarette $6.99

This was delicious. I had a few bites as well and we both agreed. I had:

Caesar Salad, topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese $5.99

I really enjoyed this and I'm a big caesar salad fan. It was garlicky and you could taste the anchovy flavor as well. Not too creamy either (which is key!)
Both salads were good sized and a great start to our first meal. Our entree:

Creole Seafood Jambalaya $18.99
Shrimp, chicken, andouille sausage, spicy tasso ham and roasted green onions

We shared this and it was PLENTY for the two of us! It was sooo good and quite spicy (well for me anyway, DH didn't think it was). I figured it might be, so I also ordered to share:

Our Famous Rosemary Skillet Cornbread $6.99
Served in a cast iron skillet with maple butter


This was awesome! The sweetness worked perfectly against the spiciness of the Jambalaya. The combination of the two dishes was the best, both in flavor and in size. DH & I had a nice bottle of Chardonay with the meal and Rob was great with keeping our wine and water glasses full throughout!

DH had a slice of Key Lime pie for dessert that he said was just okay. I was too full for dessert (and I think DH probably was too ). We finished our wine and used a $25 restaurant.com coupon to help pay the bill. We were out the door shortly after 8:00 and had a short stroll across to La Nouba!

I really enjoyed House of Blues. It was our first time there and I would definitely return!

 

[CJ]

Thursday August 19th: we arrived just before rope drop at the Animal Kingdom. After a very productive morning we were hungry for lunch and timed it perfectly with seeing the 12:30pm Flights of Wonder show and then walked right next door for our 1:00pm adr at:

YAK & YETI

We actually got there at 1:03pm at it was very busy. The hostess noted our adr and said that it was a good thing we had one as there was at least a 1/2 hour wait without it! After less than ten minutes we were called. This was our first time at this restaurant as well and it is lovely. With DH being slowed up (he has a big boot on his leg and can walk only short distances) we didn't get to look around much. Our table was near the entrance, and he parked the scooter right near where we were seated.

Unfortunately I don't remember our server's name, but he was very very nice and a lot of fun. To start I ordered us two:

Yak Attack - Mango Daiquiri, Bacardi Light Rum, and Wildberry Flavors $7.99

These were yummy! Like a frozen slushy,very thick and large enough that one was plenty. We also had ice water with lemon that was refilled as we needed. I knew what I wanted at this place so DH left it to me to order!

Wok-Fried Green Beans - battered green beans, sweet Thai chili dipping sauce $7.99

I really liked these, DH not so much. I expected to taste the green beans more, but they were very small. More like haricot verts (skinny), but the batter surrounding them was delicious! They tasted like onion rings with a great spicy/sweet sauce. DH isn't an onion ring guy, so I pretty much ate them all by myself. But that was okay because DH's entree was GIGANTIC!

Baby Back Ribs - slow-roasted ribs, hoisin BBQ sauce, chicken fried rice, sweet chili slaw $24.99

This was a massive plate of food! It would have been plenty to share between us and I did have one rib and a few spoonfuls of the rice. The ribs were delicious, different than typical BBQ ribs. They had a really nice Oriental flavor. The fried rice was great as well. It had a distinct spice that I couldn't figure out. I even sent the server to the kitchen to ask, but he just said it was a "seasoning", so I guess it's a secret! The slaw was good as well, but kind of bland compared to the ribs and rice. For my meal I had:

Seared Ahi Tuna - chilled, sesame-encrusted ahi tuna, wasabi aioli, and sweet chili slaw $10.99

This was so good, I could have ordered three! The tuna was perfectly presented, seared on the outside and rare in the middle. There were about five small strips and it came with the largest serving of fresh ginger I've ever had! It was far too much for me, but a ginger lover would have been thrilled! The wasabi aioli was just the right spiciness and the slaw worked well. A great combination of flavors. I definitely chose the right combo of the green beans and the tuna!

DH was especially full.... but I had read nothing but amazing things about one item so I had to order one for us to share:

Fried Wontons - Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey vanilla drizzle $7.99

Okay, now maybe it was because we were already full.... but I really wasn't. We were not a fan of these, and I know how highly they are praised here on the DIS. I found the wontons to taste doughy and overcooked. The pineapple was very good and we enjoyed the ice cream... but we actually left a few pieces of the wontons on the plate. I wished I had ordered the trio of sorbets instead as I know that would have been a perfect ending for the meal.

But aside from the wonton disappointment this was a great meal. We both really enjoyed our other choices and we would return to Yak & Yeti.

 

[CJ]

Wow, either I write the most boring reviews ever or I wrote something that was unintentionally offensive........ but no comments at all?
I've read and reread them, and I thought they were fine.

Anyways...... I won't do any more reviews because either of the reasons above would suggest that's a good idea.

 

[Krissalee]

I loved your reviews and I am looking forward to reading more! I also like you thread title, and have to agree with you on that - I want what I want, so I would rather do my own thing and pay OOP, than be tied to a plan.

I am going to be trying Yak and Yeti for the first time in just a few weeks. We have booked and cancelled it the last 2 trips, but this time we are making it there!

Thanks for taking the time to share your reviews!

 

[mlaw]

Just found your review tonight and have really enjoyed it so far. Please don't stop! We also have always gone without the dining plan and just ordered what we wanted. I have to say though, I am tempted to try the deluxe plan just once for 4-5 days. Hope you keep writing.

 

[ShelleyLynn]

Great reviews! We are planning a non-dining plan trip this March with DH, DD7, DD9 and myself. I have long suspected that the cost would be pretty close since paying OOP you only order what you want and not get something just because it was included or the most expensive!! Please continue, you have several reviews for places we are considering for March and my ADR window opens in 2 weeks. I am also considering which places my DH and I might share entrees but have apps/dessert or where I think my two girls could share one adult meal since neither really likes the kids menu offerings! Thanks for taking the time to review!
Rochelle

 

[butiflfeet]

I just found your reviews! Great start We are trying to decide if we want to add the dining plan for our upcoming trip or not Its not for everybody but we've had the DxDDP for our last 2 trips and really enjoyed the variety we were able to experience with each meal. Who knows when I'll actually decide but I'll enjoy your reviews while I try to make up my mind!

 

[yakkin' yeti]

Nice reviews! Thanks for sharing. We also skipped the DDP, and it seemed like some of the waiters at the places we ate were a little relieved.

Sadly, I got sick on our AK day, so we ended up canceling our Yak and Yeti reservation -- I really wanted to try the tuna. Maybe next time.

 

[CJ]

I really appreciate the responses. Hopefully I’ll get a few more for encouragement as I continue. Now this is going to be a long one!

We ended up spending longer at the Animal Kingdom than we expected on our first full day and didn’t get back to the All Star Sports until close to 4:00pm. After a short rest and showers we headed off to DHS and arrived with just enough time to watch the last two American Idol shows. I knew we would be full from our lunch, so I made a later adr at 7:50pm. Which worked out perfectly with the timing of exiting the theater and walking to dinner at the:

HOLLYWOOD BROWN DERBY

I love how the seaters at the Brown Derby are “older” ladies who always seem so sweet and friendly. It’s the only WDW restaurant that I’ve noticed this trend at, and I really like it. And the place just looks great!

DH and I were seated at one of the circular padded booths on the first level. It was lovely and very spacious for the two of us. Our waiter was Carlos and he was so professional yet friendly, a great balance.

He brought us each a complimentary glass of champagne for our anniversary, which was very nice. DH & I decided that since it had been such a full day at AK that we would relax and enjoy dinner without worrying about touring afterwards.

The Brown Derby has excellent wine and cocktail selections. DH had:

Citizens of Hollywood Martini Flight of the Stars $9.25
A tasting of three Martinis
Shelby Mayor Grey Goose and Dry Vermouth
Honey Darling Bombay Sapphire Gin and Dry Vermouth
Dorma Nesmond Ketel One Citroen, Pomegranate Liqueur, and Cranberry Juice

This was so well presented! It reminded me of the way kids get three ice cream cones presented in a holder. DH enjoyed all of them! I sipped on the champagne and we ordered for our dinner a bottle of :

Fess Parker Riesling, Santa Barbara County ‘08 $37

Now on to the food! DH & I were so looking forward to sharing:

“Our Famous Cobb Salad” with Finely-chopped Greens, Turkey Breast, Bacon, Egg, Tomatoes, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Avocado, Chives, and Cobb Dressing 15.00

This was excellent as always. It doesn’t look that appetizing when it’s all mixed up, but it tastes so fresh and delicious! I had Carlos give DH most of it though as I wanted to have an appetite for my entrée.

Spice-rubbed Black Grouper with Sautéed Haricots Verts and Sunchokes, Rainbow Carrot Slaw, and Citrus Butter 31.00

This ended up being my “green bean” day! I liked this dish, but I didn’t love it. On previous visits the grouper was served with asparagus and potatoes, and I did prefer that version. But the fish itself was wonderful!
DH decided that after ¾ of the Cobb Salad he would just order another appetizer (oh, the benefits of not having the Dining Plan!):

Cremini Mushroom Chèvre Tortelloni with Tomato-Fennel Sauce and Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano 9.00

This was good, but again not as good as the ravioli they used to serve. Although the dessert selection looked fabulous, we were satisfied and didn’t want to risk feeling stuffed.

So it is kind of a mixed review overall. We love the Brown Derby for its atmosphere, service, and the amazing salad. But we’ll try other items next time we go. But we'll always get the Cobb Salad!

 

[CJ]

Friday August 20th was a bit of a sleep in day for us as we were doing a full day at Epcot (without a midday break). After touring some of Future World we headed for our 12:05 lunch adr at the:

CORAL REEF

We had to wait about 15 minutes here, which was the second longest wait we had (more on that later! ). With the help of a very nice manager, we found an outlet to plug DH’s electric scooter into inside the restaurant and we were set. We were seated right next to the aquarium at a table for 4. It was a wonderful spot, and we were lucky to see a load of fish, stingrays, and a very big turtle!

Our server was Moe and he could not have been nicer. We both ordered a drink with a Glow Cube:

Magical Star Cocktail
Light up your celebration with X-Fusion Organic Mango and Passion Fruit Liqueur, Parrot Bay Coconut Rum, Pineapple Juice, and a souvenir Multicolored Glow Cube 10.25

Blue “Glow-tini”
Skyy Infusions Citrus Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Blue Curaçao, Sweet-and-Sour, and Pineapple Juice with a Sugared Rim and souvenir Blue Glow Cube 10.25

These drinks are ridiculously expensive, but DH decided he wanted to collect some of the cubes so…. They were actually very good! Moe was such a sweetheart, that later on in the meal when DH asked him if there was any way we could get a few extras…….. he brought us 4 more!!!
(Moe said not to tell anyone, so let’s just keep this to ourselves, okay? )

We were served a delicious bread basket to start and we ordered another bottle of the Fess Parker Reisling (which we really like, as it is a perfect choice for the summer time). For my meal I ordered the:

Appetizer for Two: Crab Cakes with Tropical Fruit Salsa and Tequila Aïoli, Sea and Land Grilled Shrimp with Cucumber Salad and Barbecued Beef Tenderloin Skewer with Creamy Polenta, and a Taste of our Creamy Lobster Soup 16.99

This gets a very mixed review from me. The crab cakes, though small, were delicious and the mango aioli was excellent. I liked the shrimp (but they didn’t really have a grilled flavor) and I really enjoyed the cucumber salad. The beef and polenta were good, but I didn’t like the barbeque sauce it was served with. But by far the most disappointing part was the lobster soup!

This used to be one of my favorite soups and boy is it changed! It is not creamy and has, I believe, a strong taste of cinnamon (if not that then nutmeg, but definitely a weird unpleasant taste!). It came with two small servings and I barely finished one of them. DH tried it and hated it!
I spoke to Moe and the same manager who helped us earlier, and they both agreed with me that the new chef had changed it for the worse (he is from Germany and apparently doesn’t think it should be too creamy) and that I was not the first person to complain. Hopefully they go back to the original recipe very soon!

On my recommendation DH ordered:

Seared Chicken Breast: served over Spaetzle finished with Applewood Smoked Bacon-Chicken Broth 20.99

While he liked it, he said that the whole plate tasted rather bland. I tried the chicken and while it was cooked well, it didn’t have much flavor. We couldn’t really taste the smoked bacon at all.

Because it was our anniversary (we wore our pins everywhere) and I think because Moe felt bad about the soup, he brought us each a complimentary order of

A Sweet Ending to Your Celebration . . . The Chocolate Wave*
served with Raspberries 7.99

I was going to order us one to share, but this was even better! We were so full afterwards, but this dessert is absolutely awesome. DH & I ate every bite. It was by far the best part of the meal! That, the great table, and the service (and freebies from Moe!) made up for the food missteps!

Next up - dinner at Le Cellier the same day!

 

[NOLAdisneymom]

Looking forward to more!

 

[SteffM]

We are looking forward to eating at House of Blues on Saturday. We, too, have a coupon from restaurant.com. Did you have any trouble using it? I had heard (after I purchased it) that some places were not wanting to accept them. I look forward to your dining reports!

 

[Liliyana]

“Our Famous Cobb Salad” with Finely-chopped Greens, Turkey Breast, Bacon, Egg, Tomatoes, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Avocado, Chives, and Cobb Dressing 15.00

I've been eyeing this for ages! Did you and your DH order it "as is"? I've noticed a lot of people order it without the blue cheese, and that makes me sad -