Peggy Jean
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2005
- Messages
- 413
No credit left behind...7 days of the deluxe dining plan 5/3 - 5/10/08
- Thread starter hmgray95
- Start date
2giddy4wdw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2005
- Messages
- 937
Got me hooked too!! Keep it coming!
princesslily
Disney finatic
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2005
- Messages
- 409
I can't wait for more! I get to make my ressies on June 13 
dizneyrules
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2007
- Messages
- 148
More, more!! Type faster!Scornelius
<font color=deeppink>Suburban Princess<br><font co
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2006
- Messages
- 1,636
I'm absolutely loving your report!! Can't wait for more!!!!
My 180 day mark is June 14th Leslieann1024
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2006
- Messages
- 224
Ready for more . . . . . where are ya ?!?! You threw the bait, now reel us in ! (and no, having a life does NOT excuse you !)
SassyLassy
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2006
- Messages
- 595
Great reviews! Now I want some pesto!! lol
Sorry for the delay everyone...I did bring my laptop home from work with every intention of doing some more reviews this weekend, but alas, I had too much going on this weekend to log on....aside from showers and sleeping, I don't think I spent more than an hour at home either day!
Anyhow, back to the reviews! Day 3 was our first attempt at park hopping with the kids. On last year's trip (when we only had DD and she was just about to turn 3) we decided not to do park hoppers....we felt like it would be too hard with a child. This year, since we were staying at WL and therefore had easy access to the MK by boat (and therefore the monorail as well), we decided to spread our wings and park hop, even though we had DS on board this year as well as DD. I have to say, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I think that was mostly because last year we were stupid enough to bring DD's jogging stroller which is roughly the size of a Pontiac while this year I smartly purchased a double umbrella stroller, so getting on the buses was not nearly the hassle it was last year. So, park hopping plan in hand, we started day 3 at AK, with Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House. I was quite sad when I heard that they were changing Tusker House from counter service to table service, as I always thought that TH was the best counter service at the World. However, I was glad to see that while changing it to table service, they still kept the same excellent food. This was a really good buffet. There were tons of options...both classic American style and some African inspired dishes...and everything was very fresh. I particulary enjoyed the cheese blintzes and the fruit selection, which was by far the best fruit selection of any buffet that I have been at in WDW. The characters were great, and this is one of the few places where Daisy appears, which thrilled DD. They have a cute little parade around the room, very similar to the parade at CP, where the characters lead the kids around while dancing, and in this case, shaking various African instruments. True to form, DD, who is never shy about "shaking her booty" at home (yes, she really says that..who says they don't learn anything at school), refused to participate unless I did as well. So there I was, standing out like a sore thumb admist all the midgets, shaking my marimba.
We had a late seating at TH, so by the time lunchtime rolled around, we were really only a little peckish, and since DD was napping in the stroller, I suggested to DH that I would get us a counter service meal to share while she slept. I wanted to try Yak & Yeti since it was new (by the way....is there any more unappetizing name for a restaurant than Yak & Yeti...insert your mystery meat Chinese food joke here), so we headed for the seating area on the side, and promptly remembered why we try at all costs to avoid eating lunch during peak dining hours. While there was an abundance of seats, they were all taken, and at any rate very few had any shade, which for DH, DD and DS, all of whom develop a lovely golden tan as soon as the sun touches them, is not a problem, but for myself who burns even while wearing SPF 70, is a major issue. So having packed my handy Neat Sheet (I highly recommend bringing one of these with you....there is literally a million different uses for it at the parks), we headed off to find a shady spot where we could have ourselves a picnic. I then got in the very long line at Y&Y. After 20 minutes of standing in the sun and attempting not to die from heatstroke, it occurred to me that it was odd that the line had not moved forward at all. It was then that I realized that there was some sort of problem with the computer system. Determined to try Y&Y (and really too lazy to pack up and move to a different place), I stayed in the line another 5 minutes only to hear the woman running the cash register announce that her system had just completely died. Undaunted by this turn of events (and again, really lazy), I moved to a different line. Standing here for another 10 minutes, I realize that the computer system problem is affecting all registers, and that the problem was that while the registers were working, they were not transmitting any of the orders being taken back to the kitchen to be filled. At this point, having already invested 35 minutes in this endeavor, I was damned if I was going to quit now. The manager (bless her heart....she just kept saying "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" to every customer she could find) had figured out a way around the problem by handwriting every order and taking it to the window....why it did not occur to her to just have the customer hand their receipt to the person at the kitchen counter, I am not sure. So a mere 50 minutes after I first got in line, I collected my crispy orange chicken with white rice and mango pie, and headed over to DH, who at seeing my face, realized that asking me what the hell took so long was probably not a good idea. At this point DD was awake, and hungry, so fortunately, she is a fan of Asian food, and happily shared in our crispy orange chicken, as I was not going to get in that line again. The food, I am happy to report, was fairly good. It was nothing special, and certainly not worth the 50 minutes it took, but I will go back, because quite frankly, I don't like any of the other counter service options at AK. The chicken was really just chicken nuggets with an orange sauce, but it was a nice lite sauce, not drenched as most Chinese places do, so it won my seal of approval. The mango pie was quite yummy....almost like a key lime pie, but with a mango flavor, whic is a really stupid description, but the best I can come up with.
For dinner, we had reservations at Biergarten at Epcot. This is DH's one requirement when we got to WDW....we must have dinner at Biergarten. He is a huge German food fan, and an even bigger beer fan, and while beer is readily available where we live, German food is not, so he is always very excited to go to Biergarten. I normally am as well, but they did not have any infant seats here, nor would they allow us to bring our stroller inside. This meant that we had to eat while holding DS, and I had a splitting headache from being in the sun so much that day, so between the two, I was not feeling the Biergarten love as much this time. Adding to that the fact that we shared a table with a family from Latin/South American who seemed very nice, but spoke no English, and that the band was finishing their set as we were being seated, so we didn't even get to see the show, and I was definitely getting annoyed. The food was good (if you go, get the pork schnitzel and the Bavarian cheesecake....both are always tremendous), but it seemed like they had less choices than usual....and they did, as DH [pointed out to me that pork knuckle was no longer available (not much of a loss in my book, but devastating to DH). DH enjoyed his giant mug o'beer, but due to my headache (and the fact that I was afraid that I would drop the baby if I started drinking), I chose not to imbibe, which also made it a lot less fun than usual. All in all, it was good, but just seemed kind of off for us this trip (DH agreed as well), and I think we will probably just get DH a counter service lunch and beer at Sommerfest next time instead of doing the full buffet.
That's it for day 3.....stay tuned as day 4 will be coming soon!
Anyhow, back to the reviews! Day 3 was our first attempt at park hopping with the kids. On last year's trip (when we only had DD and she was just about to turn 3) we decided not to do park hoppers....we felt like it would be too hard with a child. This year, since we were staying at WL and therefore had easy access to the MK by boat (and therefore the monorail as well), we decided to spread our wings and park hop, even though we had DS on board this year as well as DD. I have to say, it was much easier than I thought it would be. I think that was mostly because last year we were stupid enough to bring DD's jogging stroller which is roughly the size of a Pontiac while this year I smartly purchased a double umbrella stroller, so getting on the buses was not nearly the hassle it was last year. So, park hopping plan in hand, we started day 3 at AK, with Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House. I was quite sad when I heard that they were changing Tusker House from counter service to table service, as I always thought that TH was the best counter service at the World. However, I was glad to see that while changing it to table service, they still kept the same excellent food. This was a really good buffet. There were tons of options...both classic American style and some African inspired dishes...and everything was very fresh. I particulary enjoyed the cheese blintzes and the fruit selection, which was by far the best fruit selection of any buffet that I have been at in WDW. The characters were great, and this is one of the few places where Daisy appears, which thrilled DD. They have a cute little parade around the room, very similar to the parade at CP, where the characters lead the kids around while dancing, and in this case, shaking various African instruments. True to form, DD, who is never shy about "shaking her booty" at home (yes, she really says that..who says they don't learn anything at school), refused to participate unless I did as well. So there I was, standing out like a sore thumb admist all the midgets, shaking my marimba.
We had a late seating at TH, so by the time lunchtime rolled around, we were really only a little peckish, and since DD was napping in the stroller, I suggested to DH that I would get us a counter service meal to share while she slept. I wanted to try Yak & Yeti since it was new (by the way....is there any more unappetizing name for a restaurant than Yak & Yeti...insert your mystery meat Chinese food joke here), so we headed for the seating area on the side, and promptly remembered why we try at all costs to avoid eating lunch during peak dining hours. While there was an abundance of seats, they were all taken, and at any rate very few had any shade, which for DH, DD and DS, all of whom develop a lovely golden tan as soon as the sun touches them, is not a problem, but for myself who burns even while wearing SPF 70, is a major issue. So having packed my handy Neat Sheet (I highly recommend bringing one of these with you....there is literally a million different uses for it at the parks), we headed off to find a shady spot where we could have ourselves a picnic. I then got in the very long line at Y&Y. After 20 minutes of standing in the sun and attempting not to die from heatstroke, it occurred to me that it was odd that the line had not moved forward at all. It was then that I realized that there was some sort of problem with the computer system. Determined to try Y&Y (and really too lazy to pack up and move to a different place), I stayed in the line another 5 minutes only to hear the woman running the cash register announce that her system had just completely died. Undaunted by this turn of events (and again, really lazy), I moved to a different line. Standing here for another 10 minutes, I realize that the computer system problem is affecting all registers, and that the problem was that while the registers were working, they were not transmitting any of the orders being taken back to the kitchen to be filled. At this point, having already invested 35 minutes in this endeavor, I was damned if I was going to quit now. The manager (bless her heart....she just kept saying "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry" to every customer she could find) had figured out a way around the problem by handwriting every order and taking it to the window....why it did not occur to her to just have the customer hand their receipt to the person at the kitchen counter, I am not sure. So a mere 50 minutes after I first got in line, I collected my crispy orange chicken with white rice and mango pie, and headed over to DH, who at seeing my face, realized that asking me what the hell took so long was probably not a good idea. At this point DD was awake, and hungry, so fortunately, she is a fan of Asian food, and happily shared in our crispy orange chicken, as I was not going to get in that line again. The food, I am happy to report, was fairly good. It was nothing special, and certainly not worth the 50 minutes it took, but I will go back, because quite frankly, I don't like any of the other counter service options at AK. The chicken was really just chicken nuggets with an orange sauce, but it was a nice lite sauce, not drenched as most Chinese places do, so it won my seal of approval. The mango pie was quite yummy....almost like a key lime pie, but with a mango flavor, whic is a really stupid description, but the best I can come up with.
For dinner, we had reservations at Biergarten at Epcot. This is DH's one requirement when we got to WDW....we must have dinner at Biergarten. He is a huge German food fan, and an even bigger beer fan, and while beer is readily available where we live, German food is not, so he is always very excited to go to Biergarten. I normally am as well, but they did not have any infant seats here, nor would they allow us to bring our stroller inside. This meant that we had to eat while holding DS, and I had a splitting headache from being in the sun so much that day, so between the two, I was not feeling the Biergarten love as much this time. Adding to that the fact that we shared a table with a family from Latin/South American who seemed very nice, but spoke no English, and that the band was finishing their set as we were being seated, so we didn't even get to see the show, and I was definitely getting annoyed. The food was good (if you go, get the pork schnitzel and the Bavarian cheesecake....both are always tremendous), but it seemed like they had less choices than usual....and they did, as DH [pointed out to me that pork knuckle was no longer available (not much of a loss in my book, but devastating to DH). DH enjoyed his giant mug o'beer, but due to my headache (and the fact that I was afraid that I would drop the baby if I started drinking), I chose not to imbibe, which also made it a lot less fun than usual. All in all, it was good, but just seemed kind of off for us this trip (DH agreed as well), and I think we will probably just get DH a counter service lunch and beer at Sommerfest next time instead of doing the full buffet.
That's it for day 3.....stay tuned as day 4 will be coming soon!
I forgot to mention that at the character breakfast at Tusker House, you pause for a photo opportunity before heading in to eat. This is just a family shot with an African style backdrop. They present the photos to you during your meal, and you can purchase them for the low, low price of 31.95. Ours was actually pretty decent, so we did purchase it...plus I had pre-ordered a Photopass CD and knew that I could add all the photos from this photo stop onto my CD if I purchased the package, so I ended up with all 4 photos the photographer took. Here's a pic in case you are interested in seeing what the backdrop looks like....this is my first time posting a picture, so I hope it comes through
bakerhouse
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2007
- Messages
- 71
Loving the reviews. Glad you posted a picture so we can put faces to the reviews.
We're going in November and staying at WL. You are giving me great ideas!
We're going in November and staying at WL. You are giving me great ideas!
2crazy4disney
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 22, 2008
- Messages
- 75
I am disappointed that the Biergarten at Epcot isn't a counter service because my DS8 has been talking about a Schnitzel all the time at home even though he has never had one and we really wanted to get him one. I wonder if you could go in and ask if it was possible to purchase just that. We have all our ADR's made so we only have CS left.
The Yak & Yeti has CS and TS because they have a cafe by what I read.
I am glad to see there are other people on here who are new to the DIS forums and are earning their ears. I have been trying to get a vacation ticker on here and have no idea how to do it. :
2crazy4disney
Chris
Driving from upstate NY
POP-Aug 08 FDP
The Yak & Yeti has CS and TS because they have a cafe by what I read.
I am glad to see there are other people on here who are new to the DIS forums and are earning their ears. I have been trying to get a vacation ticker on here and have no idea how to do it. :
2crazy4disney
Chris
Driving from upstate NY
POP-Aug 08 FDP
I am disappointed that the Biergarten at Epcot isn't a counter service because my DS8 has been talking about a Schnitzel all the time at home even though he has never had one and we really wanted to get him one. I wonder if you could go in and ask if it was possible to purchase just that. We have all our ADR's made so we only have CS left.
The Yak & Yeti has CS and TS because they have a cafe by what I read.
I am glad to see there are other people on here who are new to the DIS forums and are earning their ears. I have been trying to get a vacation ticker on here and have no idea how to do it. :
2crazy4disney
Chris
Driving from upstate NY
POP-Aug 08 FDP
The German pavilion does have a counter service restaurant....it's called Sommerfest, and it's located right next to the Biergarten....but I think they only have sausages, pretzel and beer, and no schnitzel.
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