Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm - 9 Days of Disney Dining (food report)

[tink6137130]

Love your review...thanks for sharing!

 

[Crystal_27]

I was confused when I read this in your report since I just read another dining report in the last couple of days that mentioned the shrimp. I just went and checked the menus on AllEarsNet. It looks like the skillet is slightly different at lunch than dinner and that the shrimp are included with dinner.

Yeah, my bet is that, given the price difference in lunch and dinner, that the shrimp is in place of the sausage. The sausage was good, but DD was just disappointed that there wasn't any shrimp.

Can't wait for Goofy's. Somehow we had missed before last year. Mistake!! We already plan a trip there on our first night.

As for WCC, we went 2 years in a row for dinner and each time had a not so fun waiter. It definitley makes for a different experience. We just tried to have fun through the tables around us. Oh, well, the food was pretty good.

Yeah, we also missed Goofy's Candy Company during our December, 2007 trip. We made up for it in September, believe me.

About WCC, I just would have loved to at least see DH get a huge Coke. We had just come from Blizzard Beach, so I'm sure that DH could have finished it. However, instead he had to end up waiting for refills. Oh well, the food was indeed good, so it wasn't a loss.

The s'mores cheesecake looks awesome. I get so fired up when I get bad service in an empty restaurant. Drives me crazy!

Yeah, the service thing was a bummer and what's worse is that Disney doesn't really leave you feeling like you have any choice with the tip. I felt compelled to tip 18% because of the way the DDP charges are handled, even though our waitress would have only probably gotten 10% had we been paying cash. It's not only that she wasn't fun; she just wasn't there!

Thanks for the thorough reviews. We are doing Whispering Canyon for a supper! Hoping we have a more engaging server than you did!

Yeah, I could definitely see that many of the other families were having a blast, and I've read that dinner is a lot more fun than lunch so hopefully you will luck out!

I didn't get shrimp with my supper last week, but beef brisket came with the skillet. Our server said that the shrimp are rotated often with other meats. I was also looking forward to the shrimp too.

Yikes - - beef brisket - I guess I should thank my lucky stars we got sausage.

Love your review...thanks for sharing!

Thank you for reading! I'm hoping to have my next installment up tonight.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Crystal_27]

Guys, I'm really sorry for the delay in posting my update - my week just got crazier and crazier as it progressed. Anyway, back to the fun stuff..

I was very much looking forward to blowing some serious snack credits at Goofy's Candy Company. I had been drooling for months about the make-your-own pretzel rods so that's exactly what I opted for.

One is dipped in milk chocolate, covered in Reese Peanut Butter Cups, and then drizzled with white and milk chocolate and caramel; one is dipped in milk chocolate, covered in Butterfinger, and then drizzled with white and milk chocolate and caramel; and one is dipped in white chocolate, covered in chocolate chips, and then drizzled with white and milk chocolate and caramel. I loved, loved, loved the Reese one, and DH loved the Butterfinger one, so much that we went back later in the week and got three more of each.

DD opted for this:

A rice crispy dipped in milk chocolate and covered in sprinkles, M&Ms, and chocolate chips. Unfortunately we had to throw most of this away - - it was too much chocolate for her - it took her three bites to even get to any of the rice crispy - LOL.

We also picked up a couple of these:

My only complaint about Goofy's Candy Company is that the prepackaged Goofy's Candy isn't considered a snack under the DDP. I thought that anything under $4.00 was a snack credit, so DD ended up picking out three bags of Goofy's candy (the $2.95 size) but those weren't covered under the DDP so we had to pay out of pocket for those. It just didn't make sense to me because the lollipops shown above were more expensive than the candy and were included, and the make-your-own treats were also more expensive and were included. Go figure - I guess Disney has to keep us guessing.

DD and I shared this at Pecos Bill and we both found it to be a great meal.

I was a bit weary about ordering burgers from Magic Kingdom since the ones we ordered last year from Cosmic Rays were disgusting, but this was fine. I think the total was around $11.00 for what's pictured.

Anyway, that's it for now. Up next: our magical moment at Chef Mickeys. Thanks everyone for still hanging in there with me.

 

[leeann32]

Great reviews
Now I'm hungry

 

[goofieslonglostsis]

Goofies was sooo worth the wait! Like you I've been drooling a long time! One question though; did you think the pretzel rods are just as 'much' as the rice crispy or cookie? Let me explain; I've got this dea that the surface of one of those is bigger than the surface of 3 pretzel rods. Meaning; more place to add candy, bigger total candy, more to munch on! Would you say I'm right, if you compair DD's rice crispy with the rods?


I agree with you about the bags of candy at Goofies. They've got so many 'weird' rules if you ask me, a 'lot' is not included. Weird, if you think about the same candy bags being included in the DDP when you use a snackcredit for them at the shops at the resorts. That's why last year I decided to leave Goofies with nothing and get myself a lot of bags at CBR. Can imagine with DD already having something picked out that's a different situation though.

Eat the lollipops yet? I got myself a bag of the smaller ones, definately some good suckers for on the plane or when borred at home.

 

[monte]

Great review, thanks for sharing. Your little girl is so cute with the prettiest smile. Please post some of your DH scrap books as I would love to see his work.

 

[suzimar57]

those pretzel rods from goofys look tempting!

 

[Crystal_27]

Great reviews
Now I'm hungry

LOL - I stay hungry looking at all of my food pics!

Goofies was sooo worth the wait! Like you I've been drooling a long time! One question though; did you think the pretzel rods are just as 'much' as the rice crispy or cookie? Let me explain; I've got this dea that the surface of one of those is bigger than the surface of 3 pretzel rods. Meaning; more place to add candy, bigger total candy, more to munch on! Would you say I'm right, if you compair DD's rice crispy with the rods?


I agree with you about the bags of candy at Goofies. They've got so many 'weird' rules if you ask me, a 'lot' is not included. Weird, if you think about the same candy bags being included in the DDP when you use a snackcredit for them at the shops at the resorts. That's why last year I decided to leave Goofies with nothing and get myself a lot of bags at CBR. Can imagine with DD already having something picked out that's a different situation though.

Eat the lollipops yet? I got myself a bag of the smaller ones, definately some good suckers for on the plane or when borred at home.

Hey girly-girl - hope all is well in your neck of the world. I've been so crazy-busy at work that I haven't had time to DIS-boards at all!

As to your question about the rice crispy vs. the pretzel rods, I would definitely say that you have more ability to go overboard on the chocolate and candy on the rice crispy than you do with the pretzel rods. It was ridiculous how thick the yummy stuff was caked onto her rice crispy - - I think she had to take 4 bites before even getting to the rice crispy. And, in addition, the entire bottom of the rice crispy container was filled with M&Ms and sprinkles and chocolate chips, so it was like the gift that kept on giving - LOL.

I had to laugh at the thought of you leaving Goofy's with nothing - that's some serious willpower there, girl!

And, about the lollipops, we gave those to our friends' kiddos back home but the report is that they loved them. What's not to love, afterall?

Great review, thanks for sharing. Your little girl is so cute with the prettiest smile. Please post some of your DH scrap books as I would love to see his work.

Awww, thank you! Since you are interested, here are some pictures of some of the pages DH did last year for DD's autograph book:

We have fun with it - - I can't wait until we can do the autograph pages for the fairies!!!!

those pretzel rods from goofys look tempting!

Yes, they were fabulous. By the end on the trip, we ended up buying 12 of them (although we gave 3 to our friends). I dream about how good they were.

Well, guys, I am awaiting receipt of my PhotoPass CD so I can do the next installment. Hopefully it will be here soon, so I can get moving. Take care everyone!!

 

[Crystal_27]

All right, guys and gals, sorry about the delay - - it took longer than anticipated for me to receive my PhotoPass CD. I really wanted to wait to receive that since we had the wonderful fortune to be selected as the family to open Chef Mickey's for dinner!! I honestly could not believe our luck - we had a 5:00 p.m. ADR and were several families back in checking in, but we sure got the surprise of a lifetime.

First, DD was placed on the red carpet and was asked to drop the rope.

Then, the Big Cheese himself greeted her and took us back to our seats.

Then, Mickey asked our DD to sign *his* autograph book, which she did (and I was certainly thankful that we had been working on her handwriting - LOL).

Finally, it was dinner as usual, but we were presented with a free picture of DD and Mickey for being the selected family, which was so generous and unexpected.

Now, I have to admit that we were all jacked up on excitement and I really didn't do my duty in taking many pictures of the food. However, I got a couple of our food, and a couple of our desserts.

The food here was tasty and fresh - - a typical Disney buffet. The meats for the night were ribs and prime rib and I really didn't have a single complaint. However, since this is a character meal, I'm sure we, like many families, come more for the characters than for the food.

So, Chef Mickey's was certainly a wonderful experience for us. We didn't see the Dream Team anywhere during our entire 9-day trip at Disney, but I felt like being selected as the family to open Chef Mickey's really is a memory that DD will treasure, much more so than any Dream FastPass we could have won. She was really made to feel so special, and talking about it even now lights her face up. Total cost for dinner was $94.84 so it was also a very good bargain for the DDP.

Thanks to everyone who's still hanging in there. I really want to get this wrapped up in the next week or so, so I'll be posting more diligently - I promise. Take care!

 

[sandym718]

Oh how wonderful!!!! I bet you were picked because your DD is soooooo darned cute, LOL!! I love that dress! She must have just been beaming, that is a dream for sure.

Glad to hear a good CM dinner report - we're trying dinner next time for our first night. I can call for it on Monday!!

 

[Crystal_27]

Oh how wonderful!!!! I bet you were picked because your DD is soooooo darned cute, LOL!! I love that dress! She must have just been beaming, that is a dream for sure.

Glad to hear a good CM dinner report - we're trying dinner next time for our first night. I can call for it on Monday!!

Awwww, I like to think she was picked for that same reason - LOL. It really was a meal to remember, and CM will definitely be on our not-to-be-missed restaurant list for future trips just because the food was so tasty and because there was so much variety.

I know many DIS-ers say that 1900 Park Fare is the best buffet at Disney, but we all thought that CM was the best buffet. Anyway, I hope you have as geat a meal as we did.

 

[Crystal_27]

Sorry for the delay everyone - my computer decided to crash last weekend. UG!! Cross your collective fingers that I can retrieve all of my pictures which were all stored on the crashed computer's (now defunct) hard drive. However, I told DH that if I did lose all of my pictures, that's just more of an excuse to plan more Disney trips - LOL.

Anyway, back to the food. On this day of our trip, we had our typical breakfast at Captain Cook's and had dinner reservations at Kona! During our last trip we could not fit in Kona so I have been drooling over dining pictures of Kona food for a year now.

As was typical, we had an early dinner reservation and we were seated right away. We passed this work of art as we were shown to our table and I was so impressed that I just had to take a picture.

We were given bread and butter as a starter, which was fabulous. DD also got a cute little surprise with her drink.

For our entrees, DH and I both ordered the teriyaki steak and DD ordered the hamburger platter which also came with a yogurt parfait and cooked carrots and green beans.

This was *the* meal that I had been dreaming about for a year and it did not disappoint. The teriyaki marinade was a perfect compliment to the steak, as was the pineapple relish. The potatoes and brocolini were also very very good. Unfortunately, DH was not as much of a fan of the meal as I was, but he still said it was a good meal.

DD enjoyed her meal as well - it was a typical Disney hamburger with typical Disney sides for the children.

For dessert, DH ordered the cheesecake (big surprise, right?) and I ordered the Kona Kone.

DH thought that the cheesecake was good, and the Kona Kone was a fun dessert for DD and I. Total for this meal was $92.02, and this meal was probably my second favorite of our trip.

I also forgot to include a picture of the popcorn we got for a snack the day before. It was (as usual) perfect Disney popcorn.

Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a great night.

 

[Gixer]

Great reviews! have really enjoyed reading them Ohhh my gosh, your DD is just the cutest little thing! I bet you were one proud and excited Mommy when she got picked to open CM! She looks like she should be a child model or on tv or something, what a little sweetie pie!

 

[sandym718]

We love Kona, too!! I'm sad the filet is gone, but that steak looks fab as well - I'll be trying it! Fingers crossed for you hard drive. My computer died a couple months ago - no power at all. I took it in to a repair shop and it wasn't worth fixing, but for just $30, he was able to download ALL my photos and documents onto 2 DVD's. Heck, that was worth the $$ just for the time saved, I had a LOT on there!! Good luck!

 

[michelleiada]

Thank you for taking the time to review the Disney Dining. It has helped me in deciding on where to eat when we go in May. We have been to WDW several times but have never done the Dining Plan and this time thought we would try it. I will start making reservations next week and I must say I'm finding the decision making to be overwhelming with so many choices. It is also hard to know where you will want to eat and on what day, six months in advance. The pictures are wonderful too! Your DD is adorable! Enjoy her, they grow so fast. It seems like yesterday that my two DD's were that age and now are teens. Four is a precious age. Thanks again for sharing with fellow Disney fans!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Your pictures are great.

 

[Crystal_27]

Great reviews! have really enjoyed reading them Ohhh my gosh, your DD is just the cutest little thing! I bet you were one proud and excited Mommy when she got picked to open CM! She looks like she should be a child model or on tv or something, what a little sweetie pie!

Thank you so much for reading, and you are so sweet for saying that about my DD - we love her to pieces!

We love Kona, too!! I'm sad the filet is gone, but that steak looks fab as well - I'll be trying it! Fingers crossed for you hard drive. My computer died a couple months ago - no power at all. I took it in to a repair shop and it wasn't worth fixing, but for just $30, he was able to download ALL my photos and documents onto 2 DVD's. Heck, that was worth the $$ just for the time saved, I had a LOT on there!! Good luck!

Oh, thanks for the well wishes about our computer. I hope that we can salvage our pictures. Our DD is 4 years old and that computer had pictures of her since she was a baby. I can't imagine losing them. I'm going to try taking it to a repair shop to see what they can do. Failing that, I think that there are various computer "forensics" labs that will try and save data (but I'm sure that won't come cheap). Either way, I just hope we can save some of them. Anyway, sorry for the downer but thanks for reading my reviews. The next one should be up tomorrow.

Thank you for taking the time to review the Disney Dining. It has helped me in deciding on where to eat when we go in May. We have been to WDW several times but have never done the Dining Plan and this time thought we would try it. I will start making reservations next week and I must say I'm finding the decision making to be overwhelming with so many choices. It is also hard to know where you will want to eat and on what day, six months in advance. The pictures are wonderful too! Your DD is adorable! Enjoy her, they grow so fast. It seems like yesterday that my two DD's were that age and now are teens. Four is a precious age. Thanks again for sharing with fellow Disney fans!

YAY - I'm glad that my reviews are helping you with your dining planning. The DIS helped me with planning so much last year that I wanted to give something back with this review (plus I love having the added bonus of having pictures of our food right at my fingertips - LOL). We loved the dining plan and hopefully you will too. Planning six months in advance is very difficult, though, I agree. We used Tour Guide Mike's charts and just took his advice as to the best park days and just made our ADRs according to those and I was really happy with the results. Anyway, have fun planning and thank you for reading!

 

[Crystal_27]

Your pictures are great.

LOL - we must have posted at the same time!! Thank you for the compliment and for reading!!

 

[Izzy&LiamsMomma]

Thank you so much for this--we are planning our first ever Disney trip and several places you reviewed helped me decide on our dining for the week!

 

[Gixer]

I just read in your signature that your doing the DCL Eastern next year, we did that this past January and I have to tell you we all LOVED it!
Your DD will have so much fun with all the activities and kids clubs, DH and I had to beg our girls to have at least a little bit of family time with us as they never wanted to leave their new friends and the kids club! Your all going to have such a wonderful time on DCL, make sure you book Dinner at Palo, the chocolate souffle is heaven!