No carbs till Disney! 4 days of splurging on the (mostly) good stuff (DONE)!

[ShannonMB]

Hi DIS people, welcome to my Disney splurge!

I am always in the midst of trying to lose weight/on a diet, eating well, watching carbs, la la la. With varying success, because if I was great at it, I'd be thin! About a month before our trip I was in a particularly snacky mode, so I decided one evening, "NO CARBS till Disney!" I was pretty strict with it and kept it going until we went. Managed to lose a few pounds and prepare myself for a good old-fashioned Disney binge!

My name is Shannon, mom to the best-ever touring partner, 13 year old Lily (loves to be called 'Princess Lily' at WDW). Daughter to Carol (Nana), who accompanied us on this trip, loves WDW, and is happy to let me take the lead. A 3-generation girls trip - 4 nights at Caribbean Beach on the DP, with MNSSHP and F&W thrown in! (9/24-9/28, 2014)

Here we are, on the boat to the Poly from MK. That my big face in the front of the selfie, and Lily and Nana looking cute behind me!..

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 1 - Hollywood Studios

We arrived at Caribbean Beach Resort on the morning of Wed, 9/24 after an uneventful and easy non-stop flight from Columbus, Ohio. Since we had checked in online the previous day, they were at the door with an iPad that read "Welcome B...... Party", and whisked us right to concierge where we picked up our packet. DD got a big kick out of that since she loves being a VIP!

Anyway, our room was ready, so after a quick stop to drop our stuff off we headed out to Hollywood Studios and our first meal! DD and I love Pizza Planet, and I planned to head straight there since we would be arriving at the park around lunch time. PP was packed when we arrived there right around noon (what do you know! But we got through the line within 10-15 minutes.



The 3 of us shared 2 counter service credits here, which was more than enough. I know, I know, I said I was going to splurge! But Nana and I had had a snack at the airport and we knew we were having a buffet for dinner!

A meatball sub and cheese pizza were served hot...



Not everyone loves standard Disney pizza, but we like the sauce and crust. The meatball sub was pizza place quality, tasty and again, served hot.

Lily's caesar salad (for some reason she loves this, though it's nothing special)...



Olaf (carrot cake) and cappuccino cupcakes...




Our main draw to Pizza Planet is the cappuccino cupcakes, which are very chocolatey, very creamy, and very tasty. We couldn't resist getting an Olaf this time, and we were glad we did. A very moist carrot cake with no nuts (which I much prefer, especially being sensitive to walnuts), and the frosting was very distinctly cream cheesy. We enjoyed this at least as much as our favorite cappuccino!

I loved the Halloween print on the cups!



We had found a lovely table outside in the shade and we were enjoying the heat. Overall, it was a nice trip to Pizza Planet, we will definitely go back. I do wish the inside was more like in the movie, but we wouldn't spend any time in there doing arcade games anyway, so what do we care? Not a must-do, but a decent choice on a Hollywood Studios day!

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 1 - Hollywood Studios (cont)

We didn't have any room to try these amazing candy apples, but I thought they were so pretty I wanted to show them...







Ahh, this walk down Commissary(sp) Lane. Not a food pic, but doesn't it just give you that feeling?!

 

[ShannonMB]

Day 1 - Hollywood Studios (cont)

Now it is time to talk about the worst meal of our trip. Hollywood and Vine dinner, as part of the Fantasmic! dinner package. I know, I know, what did you expect? Didn't you read the reviews?? We had dined here on our first trip with Lily 7 years ago (I had been to WDW before as a kid) and everyone liked it pretty well as I recalled. I was interested in doing the Fantasmic! dining experience this time since I knew that the special seating is now front and center where we usually like to sit for F! I wouldn't mind trying Mama Melrose, but Nana doesn't care for so-so Italian food so I figured that was a risk. I didn't want to use 2TS on Brown Derby, so I thought, huh, let's try H&V again! What the heck?



First, let me say that I was annoyed by the check-in situation. We got there around 4, but since apparently the first seating isn't till 4:15pm they weren't starting check in until 4:10pm. That seemed like a miss to me, because there was quickly forming a huge cluster of people. The hostess was there to tell everyone to come back to check in in 5 minutes, probably would have been easier to check the people in and give them a pager to wait till 4:15. I don't think I would have booked the first seating of the day if I had realized, because of course it's going to be a mess getting everyone seated at once.

Anyway, as we were waiting, I noticed people being seated who had checked in after us with the same size party. I went to the crowd control hostess and asked, and she went to the somewhat snotty hostess and inquired on our behalf. Crowd control came back and told me it had to do with when we made the reservation, to which I responded, well, I made my reservation at 6am at 180+ 10, so I doubt that is the case. She went back over, and voila, we were seated immediately. Crowd control whispered to me, good thing you asked, I don't know where she had you! Roll eyes. I was annoyed and it may have clouded my opinion, but probably not by much.

On to the food...

A whole grain bread (decent, not warm), bbq chicken (average), corn spoon bread (just okay, and I really like that usually), shrimp and lobster mac and cheese (actually really tasty), some kind of shredded meat (unmemorable), orechette (sp) pasta (okay), baked chicken (mine was okay if dry, but Nana couldn't cut hers), mashed potatoes and gravy (wonderful, very fresh potato taste and obviously house-made), caesar salad (blah, like it had been sitting way too long), and a bbq meatball in the middle (like the kind you bring to work at a potluck).



Nana added the peel and eat shrimp to her plate, which she didn't comment on, and both Lily and Nana liked the green beans. I had passed on them because 1) It was time for CARBS! and 2) They looked a little too garlicky for me...



and Lil's plate...



A friend of mine from work had eaten here recently for lunch, and while she said the lunch was nothing special the desserts were good. Let's see if we agreed...

Top - macaroon (very delicious), red velvet cake (nice if a little dry), blueberry cheesecake (very smooth and creamy, and the blueberries were juicy. I bit into one an squirted blueberry juice across the table!), brownie thing (I don't remember), and a key lime tart (which we thought was something apple because the gel on the top tasted apple-y)...



Lily had some of the other stuff...chocolate covered strawberries and apple, a banana cream puff, a piece of dried mango (?), and a banana pudding...



Overall, the food here was average to poor. The atmosphere is not great either. Not very well themed, nothing at all to write home about. Very interesting to me was how much I noticed the place was extremely loud and crawling with little kids. It's WDW and a very family friendly place, so the interesting part to me was how much I noticed it now that my kiddo is so grown up! When she was one of the munchkins it didn't even fase me. We are getting old! I don't imagine we will be returning to H&V anytime in the near future, if ever.

 

[weswife]

Hello!

I am enjoying reading you review! We are going the end of Oct! I love all the touches of Halloween too. Your pics are great. I love the Olaf cupcake! So cute

 

[Evansvillegirl26]

I am always dieting before disney! I was thinking about doing a strict low carb plan a month before my jam 28 trip!

Hollywood & Vine is by far the worst meal I have ever had and we have eaten at ALOT of disney places!

 

[ribollita]

I hadn't seen a photo of the meatball sub , looks pretty good!

 

[ShannonMB]

Hello!

I am enjoying reading you review! We are going the end of Oct! I love all the touches of Halloween too. Your pics are great. I love the Olaf cupcake! So cute

Thanks for reading! We've been back home for a couple days now and this is a way for me to keep one foot back there. We always miss it SO much when we come home!

Hopefully all this nasty rain will be gone by the time you guys go. We got a little soggy a few times and the headless horseman got rained out of our Boo to You parade, but otherwise it didn't impact us too much. It wasn't near as hot as reports from early September, either, which was great. I bet it will be glorious when you go! And MK is totally decked out. Fabulous!!

 

[ShannonMB]

I am always dieting before disney! I was thinking about doing a strict low carb plan a month before my jam 28 trip!

Hollywood & Vine is by far the worst meal I have ever had and we have eaten at ALOT of disney places!

I was so glad I cut the carbs before I went. I felt great about going all out, which I don't think I would have if I hadn't done that. That would be perfect - right after the holidays get down to business before your trip!

Poor H&V, what great real estate for what they are doing with it. I imagine the littles like the characters at breakfast and lunch, but blah, not good.

Thanks for reading along! I was just reading a review from a gal who was doing an adults only with her hub, and they were going to V&A, Flying Fish, Jiko. I was thinking, huh, who the heck is gonna read THIS!

 

[ShannonMB]

I hadn't seen a photo of the meatball sub , looks pretty good!

Lots of provolone!

 

[tsme]

Loving your review. I too am always trying to lose the dreaded unwanted weight, not very successful, at least long term. So tell me, how did you find the will power to go carb free for a month, if you don't mind me asking. I'm not big on chicken, beef, or pork, nor do I like veggies. LOL, so you can see carbs are my thing, unfortunately. We're going to Disney in December & I would love to have dropped a few lbs by then. Any advise or words or wisdom?

 

[disnut1149]

I'm reading your reviews and really enjoying them!! Thanks. Your daughter is really cute. Looks like you had a great time.

 

[ShannonMB]

DAY 1 - HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (cont)

Time to wrap up day 1's feeding frenzy with mine and Lily's favorite Fantasmic! snacks. Mine is the popcorn. I love popcorn anyway, and Disney popcorn (especially at F!) is like taking the best movie theater popcorn and multiplying it by a million. My belly was full but I made room...





Did not disappoint!

Lily loves a pretzel with cheese, and it tastes much better when the pretzel is shaped like Mickey!!..



We were about 10-15th row center for the show. I know there isn't a bad seat in the house, but we like being right in the center - which is exactly what you get now with the dining package. The way they do it now actually does make you feel like it's something special and I would do it again for sure (though not at Hollywood and Vine).

All in all, we had a marvelous day at HS - some hits and misses food-wise- but great weather, Lily's first time braving RnRC and ToT, Fantasmic! great as always, and an easy time getting back to CBR on the bus. Excellent!

 

[ShannonMB]

Loving your review. I too am always trying to lose the dreaded unwanted weight, not very successful, at least long term. So tell me, how did you find the will power to go carb free for a month, if you don't mind me asking. I'm not big on chicken, beef, or pork, nor do I like veggies. LOL, so you can see carbs are my thing, unfortunately. We're going to Disney in December & I would love to have dropped a few lbs by then. Any advise or words or wisdom?

Cheese? I do okay with it because I am a big meat eater. The big thing for me is that after 3 or 4 days of wiping out all sweets/breads/pastas/rice, basically anything white, the cravings literally disappear. I find myself having to remind myself it's time for a meal, which is really saying something for a hungry girl like me. Part of it is probably that the food I allow myself to eat is pretty boring and I'm not that excited for it, but if I can white knuckle it for a few days it becomes relatively easy to control my appetite with the cravings gone. I am no one to really give weight loss advice because I am always trying to lose! It's always a struggle, so good luck to you!! And thanks for reading!!

 

[ShannonMB]

I'm reading your reviews and really enjoying them!! Thanks. Your daughter is really cute. Looks like you had a great time.

Thanks for reading! We did have a wonderful (short) trip, and I agree that Lily is pretty cute! That precious child is just like a little kid at Disney, and she bawled like a baby when we got home. Just like her mama!!!!

 

[ptlohmysoul]

Cheese? I do okay with it because I am a big meat eater. The big thing for me is that after 3 or 4 days of wiping out all sweets/breads/pastas/rice, basically anything white, the cravings literally disappear. I find myself having to remind myself it's time for a meal, which is really saying something for a hungry girl like me. Part of it is probably that the food I allow myself to eat is pretty boring and I'm not that excited for it, but if I can white knuckle it for a few days it becomes relatively easy to control my appetite with the cravings gone. I am no one to really give weight loss advice because I am always trying to lose! It's always a struggle, so good luck to you!! And thanks for reading!!

Wow! You're cravings go away?! Must be nice. We are doing a no white sugar/processed sugar diet for a month. That eliminates store bought bread. And almost no white salt (i.e. normal table salt), only sea salt. We also don't eat pasta, since it doesn't provide any real nutrients. Hoping to build up our immune systems for pigging out on vacation .

 

[ShannonMB]

Wow! You're cravings go away?! Must be nice. We are doing a no white sugar/processed sugar diet for a month. That eliminates store bought bread. And almost no white salt (i.e. normal table salt), only sea salt. We also don't eat pasta, since it doesn't provide any real nutrients. Hoping to build up our immune systems for pigging out on vacation .

I guess I should clarify "no cravings". I still would often think, hmm, a cupcake would be nice, but that feeling of "I would give my left foot for a cupcake right now" kind of intense craving goes away for me. Now of course after Disney I'm back to square one. But it was very worth it!

Here's hoping you all are feeling happy and healthy for your trip!

 

[tsme]

Cheese? I do okay with it because I am a big meat eater. The big thing for me is that after 3 or 4 days of wiping out all sweets/breads/pastas/rice, basically anything white, the cravings literally disappear. I find myself having to remind myself it's time for a meal, which is really saying something for a hungry girl like me. Part of it is probably that the food I allow myself to eat is pretty boring and I'm not that excited for it, but if I can white knuckle it for a few days it becomes relatively easy to control my appetite with the cravings gone. I am no one to really give weight loss advice because I am always trying to lose! It's always a struggle, so good luck to you!! And thanks for reading!!

Thanks for the advice. Maybe I'll give that "white knuckle" a try.
I'm looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

[goofy78]

Great reviews! DH and I actually did the same thing. We started eating Paleo in April and have really enjoyed the results. We feel much better. We did a four day trip to the world in August and pigged out! But right back to Paleo when we got home. Can't wait to see the rest of your reviews!

 

[Evansvillegirl26]

I can white knuckle it for a month if I know I have disney to look forward to. It seems my year revolves around losing for disney, gaining in disney then starting over again lol

To me H&V food is like eating Golden Corral. I like to eat food at disney that I don't normally eat at home!