Bonnie151
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2006
We're just back and wow, I'd like to give a big thanks to all DISers who have pointed out hints, warnings recommendations etc over the past few months here - this board definitely gave us one big dining success over the past fortnight. 
So, some random observations:
1. We Actually Liked the Kids Menus
I planned our meals to be a mix of buffets and chose the non-TS restaurants carefully to make sure DS(5) would get a good variety of food. It went *much* better than I expected. Connor and his sister(23 months) ate like a king & queen - at the Nine Dragons, Connor's meal of pot stickers & sweet & sour chicken was far better than any of the adults' meals.
Other winners were:
Cape May Clambake- big bowl of chowder for Connor followed by a heaping plate of mussels for him and his sister (what fun for a neat freak toddler- remove the mussel, eat it and carefully stack the empty shell on the rubbish plate) and cornbread.
Mama Melrose - Minestrone followed by much of my calamari starter (which his sister poached too - I don't think I got more than a bite or two) and then penne pasta with 4 cheeses.
Coral Reef - Lobster Soup followed by mahi mahi
WCC - Kids skillet (i.e. his share of the adult's serving)
'Ohana - We were offered a choice of "kids" food like mac & cheese, but Connor's not really into that kind of food so happily tucked into the shrimp, potatoes & skewered meat.
I could keep going, but rather than bore, will say that I'm sure sugar-free jello is on the menus, but I never even noticed it. We were offered a cookie or brownie or other item at every counter service restaurant we went to. To my toddler's delight there were heaping bowls of strawberries at every buffet we ate at and grapes as an option at our hotel's CS restaurant (as in a big bowl for an adult dessert - we'd stick in in the fridge & keep her snacking on them for the rest of the day)
2. There's Too Much Food!
I read about it, but didn't quite believe it. In fact, before we booked the DDP, we were debating whether one snack, one CS and one TS meal per day would be enough. With the caveat that I know we don't tend to eat all that much, for the three of us after a fortnight, we had 23 snacks and 11 CS credits left over. We didn't bother about the CS credits, and did one last late night run to Goofy's Candy Co to use up the snack credits (brilliant! We were allowed anything $4.00 or under except for boxed candy).
3. You Do Need to Watch Those Credits
I'd read a couple of threads about making sure the correct number of credits were deducted after your meal. A good warning. Mama Melrose deducted 3 adult credits and one child credit for our meal of 2 adults & one child. I pointed this out to the waitress to have her say to me, "I need you to sign that slip. You can sort it out with Guest Relations when you get back to your hotel." Uh no. Ignoring the fact that our ILs had also had a credit problem at another restaurant and took the "speak to Guest Relations" advice only to be told by Guest Relations that restaurant problems need to be dealt with at the time by the restaurant (long story that took much hassle to resolve), I wouldn't sign a credit card slip with an incorrect amount, so there was no way I was signing this slip. Off the waitress went in a strop. 10 minutes later, my husband came in to find out what the delay was - no sign of the waitress, to cut a long story short, we had to find the manager and eventually got it sorted. Do check credits!
4. Lots of Inconsistencies
We never seemed to get the same options twice - e.g. the first time at Raglan Road, we were told no starter for Connor. The second time, he was offered a starter off the adult menu. At the CS place at POFQ, I was at first only allowed one scoop of ice cream for a snack, the second time, DH got two. Some days we were told one drink with a CS breakfast - other days (and confirmed by the manager) we got two. Nothing major, but a bit of an annoyance.
5. Not Sure We'd Do It Again
I'm glad we did the DDP this time. It forced us out of our rut of the same few restaurants and forced us to eat at lots we normally wouldn't have ever considered (e.g. Raglan Road that the ILs liked so much they took the kids back the night DH & I had a lovely meal for 2 at Le Cellier). But it was too much food, and the food was far too rich for us. After a week I was gagging for some "simple" lunches & we bought a big box of cereal & milk for breakfast in the room. I think self catering somewhere like the Wilderness Lodge Villas is more our style, but it was worth the experience.
So, some random observations:
1. We Actually Liked the Kids Menus
I planned our meals to be a mix of buffets and chose the non-TS restaurants carefully to make sure DS(5) would get a good variety of food. It went *much* better than I expected. Connor and his sister(23 months) ate like a king & queen - at the Nine Dragons, Connor's meal of pot stickers & sweet & sour chicken was far better than any of the adults' meals.
Other winners were:Cape May Clambake- big bowl of chowder for Connor followed by a heaping plate of mussels for him and his sister (what fun for a neat freak toddler- remove the mussel, eat it and carefully stack the empty shell on the rubbish plate) and cornbread.
Mama Melrose - Minestrone followed by much of my calamari starter (which his sister poached too - I don't think I got more than a bite or two) and then penne pasta with 4 cheeses.
Coral Reef - Lobster Soup followed by mahi mahi
WCC - Kids skillet (i.e. his share of the adult's serving)
'Ohana - We were offered a choice of "kids" food like mac & cheese, but Connor's not really into that kind of food so happily tucked into the shrimp, potatoes & skewered meat.
I could keep going, but rather than bore, will say that I'm sure sugar-free jello is on the menus, but I never even noticed it. We were offered a cookie or brownie or other item at every counter service restaurant we went to. To my toddler's delight there were heaping bowls of strawberries at every buffet we ate at and grapes as an option at our hotel's CS restaurant (as in a big bowl for an adult dessert - we'd stick in in the fridge & keep her snacking on them for the rest of the day)
2. There's Too Much Food!
I read about it, but didn't quite believe it. In fact, before we booked the DDP, we were debating whether one snack, one CS and one TS meal per day would be enough. With the caveat that I know we don't tend to eat all that much, for the three of us after a fortnight, we had 23 snacks and 11 CS credits left over.
We didn't bother about the CS credits, and did one last late night run to Goofy's Candy Co to use up the snack credits (brilliant! We were allowed anything $4.00 or under except for boxed candy).3. You Do Need to Watch Those Credits
I'd read a couple of threads about making sure the correct number of credits were deducted after your meal. A good warning. Mama Melrose deducted 3 adult credits and one child credit for our meal of 2 adults & one child. I pointed this out to the waitress to have her say to me, "I need you to sign that slip. You can sort it out with Guest Relations when you get back to your hotel." Uh no. Ignoring the fact that our ILs had also had a credit problem at another restaurant and took the "speak to Guest Relations" advice only to be told by Guest Relations that restaurant problems need to be dealt with at the time by the restaurant (long story that took much hassle to resolve), I wouldn't sign a credit card slip with an incorrect amount, so there was no way I was signing this slip. Off the waitress went in a strop. 10 minutes later, my husband came in to find out what the delay was - no sign of the waitress, to cut a long story short, we had to find the manager and eventually got it sorted. Do check credits!
4. Lots of Inconsistencies
We never seemed to get the same options twice - e.g. the first time at Raglan Road, we were told no starter for Connor. The second time, he was offered a starter off the adult menu. At the CS place at POFQ, I was at first only allowed one scoop of ice cream for a snack, the second time, DH got two. Some days we were told one drink with a CS breakfast - other days (and confirmed by the manager) we got two. Nothing major, but a bit of an annoyance.
5. Not Sure We'd Do It Again
I'm glad we did the DDP this time. It forced us out of our rut of the same few restaurants and forced us to eat at lots we normally wouldn't have ever considered (e.g. Raglan Road that the ILs liked so much they took the kids back the night DH & I had a lovely meal for 2 at Le Cellier). But it was too much food, and the food was far too rich for us. After a week I was gagging for some "simple" lunches & we bought a big box of cereal & milk for breakfast in the room. I think self catering somewhere like the Wilderness Lodge Villas is more our style, but it was worth the experience.
He does however like most types of fruits so at least he eats something that's good for him and he is very healthy.
