Max & Mommy Go Deluxe - Eat Like Pooh, Bounce Like Tigger, Lose a Pound! Lots-o-Pix!

Wendi2000

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 3, 2005
Messages
1,175
Right off the bat I've got to say that we ate VERY, VERY WELL on this trip. We had some of the best meals of any of our WDW trips, had excellent service everywhere we went, and we were very pleased with the Deluxe Dining Plan. Oh, and I actually did lose a pound... must have been all the walking because I certainly didn't watch what I ate one little bit!

We are:

Mommy (Me, Wendi - 38-y-o single mom to Max)
Max (my 7-y-o son)
This is our fourth trip to WDW in four years, two with my mom, and two with just the two of us. We stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge from December 13-22, 2008. Our first night was a room only, and the following nights were all on the Deluxe Dining Plan.

I have pictures of almost everything, but didn't really take snack pictures or those that have been done many times before (like 'Ohana).

Here's where we ate:
The Mara (multiple times - breakfast, lunch, & dinner)
Sunshine Seasons (lunch)
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (dinner)
Boma (breakfast & dinner)
Tony's Town Square (lunch)
Cinderella's Gala Feast at 1900 Park Fare
Yak & Yeti (lunch)
Jiko (dinner)
Sci-Fi Dine-In (lunch)
The Hollywood Brown Derby (dinner)
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)
Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe (lunch)
'Ohana (dinner)
San Angel Inn (lunch)
Columbia Harbour House (lunch)
Hoop Dee Doo Revue
California Grill

We had a couple of ADRs that we didn't keep, but we did keep most of them. Many people find that trying to do too many table service meals on the deluxe plan really takes up too much time, but we liked our little breaks and at times when we just wanted a quick meal, we canceled our TS reservation and just grabbed some counter service instead. It worked out well for us and instead of feeling like we had to keep eating, we were actually hungry when it came time for our meals for some reason. It usually doesn't work out like that for us, but this trip it did. I am not a breakfast person, so when I actually do eat breakfast I tend to be hungrier throughout the day, maybe that's what made me hungry on this trip... or maybe it was the full-throttle park touring??? We used all of our meals and almost all of our snacks by the end of the trip - we have always done the regular dining plan, and always have to scramble to buy snacks at the end of our trips... this time we worked them out perfectly and only had 4 left at the end, which was perfect for getting snacks for our flight home.

Our first night I had planned to either have dinner at The Mara or head over to DTD to try T-Rex Cafe. I really wanted to take Max to T-Rex because I knew we'd both get a kick out of it... but I also knew how tired we would be after our all-day flights from California, so I was realistic about my intentions. I ordered a $25 from MyPoints for T-Rex so we could spend less OOP if we ate there. Well, we were up at 5:00am to leave home and we got settled in our room at AKL around 7:00pm.

Guess where we ate? :rolleyes1
 

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Dinner - The Mara
Max had the kid’s Cheeseburger with French Fries, Grapes, and Chocolate Milk.
3134490570_0eef772da2.jpg


I had the Chicken Breast Nuggets with French Fries and a small drink (Sprite Zero).
3133669245_d602ea7fe9.jpg


The server just kept loading more nuggets into my dish; I must have ended up with about 12 of them (and they are BIG) then piled a bunch of fries on top. Max ate all of his burger and a few of my nuggets plus a ton of fries. I’ve never seen him eat so much!

He liked his meal, and I liked mine too – I don’t really eat much meat, so this is something I wouldn’t normally eat, but it sounded appealing at the time and it was very good. The chicken was high quality and I liked the batter, it was just right. The fries are never really hot here because they are made in advance and they sit under heat lamps, but they’re still pretty good for sitting around for a while. This meal hit the spot, but I really could’ve used some veggies, I should’ve asked about subbing a salad for the fries.
 
Great start. Can't wait to see more. I love your list of places you went to. We will be doing a similar trip to AKL this summer.
 
Wow - I'm looking forward to the rest! Max's burger didn't look too bad. Hope you guys had a great time.
 
Sunday, December 14, 2008

A little background: I didn’t sleep well at all the night before because my big suitcase did not show up from Disney’s Magical Express. The CM did leave a silent voicemail message for me at 2:59am though that my bag had been located at the airport and was now here and could be delivered to me at any time. I had to go down to the lobby to check in for our package in the morning anyway, so I picked it up at that time and then headed down to The Mara to pick up breakfast to take back to our room.

Breakfast - The Mara
I got myself the Breakfast Platter with Bacon, a large Chocolate Milk (to save for later for Max), and a large Orange Juice.
3134498490_6ef3db1e5b.jpg


I got Max the kid’s Mickey Waffles with Bacon and a small water.
3134564428_2f143904d1.jpg

3133675279_b3c1d2ea4d.jpg


I also picked up our refillable mugs that were included with our deluxe dining plan and filled one with Coffee and the other with Hot Chocolate. I got a bag at the checkout register and loaded the bag with our breakfast bounty and headed back to the room with my beloved suitcase, our big bag of breakfast and our two mugs. I set up breakfast out on our balcony, but Max wanted breakfast in bed, so I took his food back in for him.

I'm always pretty well satisfied with breakfasts from The Mara, they are just basic, the same platter you can get all over WDW. I also like the convenience of having a quick breakfast at the resort early enough that we can get to the parks before opening without wasting valuable park touring time to stop and get something to eat.

Next up... my favorite counter service restaurant in all of WDW... can you guess???
 
Waiting for more. I thoroughly enjoyed your previous trip report. The food looks wonderful. Can't wait for more..............:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
 
Waiting for more. I thoroughly enjoyed your previous trip report. The food looks wonderful. Can't wait for more..............:thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the last one... I certainly enjoyed eating and writing about it!

sub

Hey we where at AKL DEC 14-21 we where probably neighbors;)

We were on Kudu Trail on the second floor - our first time on that side of the resort, it was a little disorienting the first couple of days!!! I prefer being on the other side, it's a little easier for the pool & the Mara.
 
OK... I'm sure a few of you are ready for something other than The Mara, so here goes! We spent our first day at Epcot and I can't miss out on my favorite counter service restaurant...

Lunch – Sunshine Seasons
Of course I had the Grilled Salmon with Olive Pesto Sauce with sides of Mashed Potatoes and Salad. This is my favorite meal here. I got Strawberry Shortcake for dessert and a Coke to wash it all down.
3134576294_dddb2db3a0.jpg

3133752303_da9e323785.jpg

3134575798_0c629a5a58.jpg

3134571026_57b50c4c55.jpg


This is one of my favorite counter service meals in all of WDW – it is a unique dish that you might expect from a table service restaurant. I did notice that the serving size was drastically reduced from the last few years, but it was still enough food for me – Max and I used to be able to share this, and it wasn’t really enough to share this time (not that it really stopped him, he’s a salmon fiend!)

Max had the kid’s Deli Sandwich with Grapes and Carrots and a Pink Lemonade.
3133751791_238270079d.jpg


He ate most of his lunch and about half of my Salmon, Mashed Potatoes, and Strawberry Shortcake. He’s a bottomless pit!

We both enjoyed our meals, as I said, the salmon dish was much smaller than it used to be, but it was just as tasty. Max’s sandwich didn’t seem too exciting to him and he probably would’ve preferred something else, but he was in a bit of a mood when I grilled him on what he wanted (he did say the sandwich, but I think he was expecting something else) and he just wanted to go find a table and sit down while I got the food.
 














Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top