Now Approaching... Sleepingbooty's Sept. PTR (We're BAAACK! 9/26)

[ladybugmom]

Sounds just like us - I think we will probably end up with 3 repeats, and 4 new places. Which are your repeats?

Our repeats are dinner at O'hana, breakfast at Akershus, and dinner at Crystal Palace.

 

[All7OfUs]

Fun question!!

I would say our family is "adventurous to the max". We've eaten authentic all over the world, and seek out the "odd" whenever we can. Our favorite meals of all time were Pakistani in Dubai, and Ethiopian in Portland, OR. I hate to say it, but you're right. Everything in Disney is a dumbed down version of what you'd find in Africa or the Middle East or Japan. They use WAYYYYYYYYYYYY less spices, and flavors than the real McCoy.

Nevertheless, we like to seek out the restaurants with fun atmospheres and theming. This time, (maroo and mine's trip) we're going for the AKL Trifecta, Teppan, Biergarten, 'Ohana, and many others that are new. The only repeat that I'm anxious to get back to are Columbia Harbor House, Cantina (although, I'm pretty sure I may swap that out of the La Cava so I can sit and sip a Margharita paired with those tasty little crab tostadas) and Earl's- odd that those are all CS places.

Hoop--- YOU MUST do this!! It is so, so, so fun!! Your girls will love it, and the food is pretty decent. The show is the reason to go, though. It is super funny and worth the credits. Look at it this way- one credit for the food, one for the show.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

So, what typically do you eat when you ARE practicing 'raw veganism'? Does that actually mean what it sounds like: uncooked vegetables?

Yep, kind of like it sounds! I eat raw veggies, fruit, & nuts. Lots of salads...LOTS! About 6 years ago I was having some heath issues, the Dr. told me they couldn't find anything wrong so they had to label it chronic fatigue and fibromialgia. I didn't like that answer, so I went searching and found a large group of raw vegans that had cured health problems eating raw food. Cancer even! I started eating raw almost overnight and felt better almost overnight.

It's not easy to do all the time, so I have my slips, which are usually vegan and on vacation I even allow myself to eat vegetarian. I pay for it though. I have bad reactions to dairy and gain weight rapidly when I eat stuff I shouldn't, so I try to stay as raw as I can most days.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Our repeats are dinner at O'hana, breakfast at Akershus, and dinner at Crystal Palace.

Oh, I love Ohana - we'll probably repeat that one too. I remember from your trip report how much you enjoyed Akershus - was it more because of the princess interaction, or the food?

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Fun question!!

I would say our family is "adventurous to the max". We've eaten authentic all over the world, and seek out the "odd" whenever we can. Our favorite meals of all time were Pakistani in Dubai, and Ethiopian in Portland, OR. I hate to say it, but you're right. Everything in Disney is a dumbed down version of what you'd find in Africa or the Middle East or Japan. They use WAYYYYYYYYYYYY less spices, and flavors than the real McCoy.

I'm not surprised at all! I already knew how adventurous YOU are - fermented camel's milk comes to mind

Nevertheless, we like to seek out the restaurants with fun atmospheres and theming. This time, (maroo and mine's trip) we're going for the AKL Trifecta, Teppan, Biergarten, 'Ohana, and many others that are new. The only repeat that I'm anxious to get back to are Columbia Harbor House, Cantina (although, I'm pretty sure I may swap that out of the La Cava so I can sit and sip a Margharita paired with those tasty little crab tostadas) and Earl's- odd that those are all CS places.[/QUOTE]

I agree with fun theming and atmosphere being important - that's why we've eaten at Sci Fi more than once. The food (while I thought it was just fine) wasn't anything to write home about.

Hoop--- YOU MUST do this!! It is so, so, so fun!! Your girls will love it, and the food is pretty decent. The show is the reason to go, though. It is super funny and worth the credits. Look at it this way- one credit for the food, one for the show. [/QUOTE]

That's a good way to think of it. I also wonder about the time commitment - will it eat up way more of our evening than a typical TS meal?

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Yep, kind of like it sounds! I eat raw veggies, fruit, & nuts. Lots of salads...LOTS! About 6 years ago I was having some heath issues, the Dr. told me they couldn't find anything wrong so they had to label it chronic fatigue and fibromialgia. I didn't like that answer, so I went searching and found a large group of raw vegans that had cured health problems eating raw food. Cancer even! I started eating raw almost overnight and felt better almost overnight.

It's not easy to do all the time, so I have my slips, which are usually vegan and on vacation I even allow myself to eat vegetarian. I pay for it though. I have bad reactions to dairy and gain weight rapidly when I eat stuff I shouldn't, so I try to stay as raw as I can most days.

That's so interesting! But it really makes sense. I definitely believe the theory that many cancers are caused (at least partially) by all the chemicals in our environment and our processed food.

You must really have a lot of discipline to stick to that diet - but if it made you feel so much better, I can see where a lot of the motivation comes from. I just had 6 oreos for lunch. I think I need to borrow some of your willpower!

 

[ladybugmom]

Oh, I love Ohana - we'll probably repeat that one too. I remember from your trip report how much you enjoyed Akershus - was it more because of the princess interaction, or the food?

Both--the princess interaction was GREAT--not at all rushed like we felt at CRT. And the breakfast food is sooo yummy!! Some of the food is served family style at your table and then there is a buffet filled with even more food! And I just LOVED the breakfast potatoes, egges, fruit, danishes, etc. that they served. It was really good food!!

 

[jordanyosh]

I would say I am not an adventurous eater, BUT I do like to try different things...We ate at Kouzzina this year. I ate at Tusker House and Boma......Some things I liked, some not so much....

 

[All7OfUs]

Yes, Hoop will take you a bit more time, but not because of the show/ dinner per se, but more because of the transportation. If you have your own car, great, if now, allow about 45 before the show to get there. My advice, if taking WDW trans. is to take the boat from MK!! It lands on the side of the Fort that you will need to be on. If you do the bus, you'll have to transfer to another but once you get there. And then it's a small walk.

but trust me, once you've been , you'll find yourself singing Hoop-de-Doo for about a month.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Both--the princess interaction was GREAT--not at all rushed like we felt at CRT. And the breakfast food is sooo yummy!! Some of the food is served family style at your table and then there is a buffet filled with even more food! And I just LOVED the breakfast potatoes, egges, fruit, danishes, etc. that they served. It was really good food!!

I know I could just take a look at the menu on allears, but I'm lazy - is it typical breakfast food, or is it.... Noregian-y?

 

[Sleepingbooty]

I would say I am not an adventurous eater, BUT I do like to try different things...We ate at Kouzzina this year. I ate at Tusker House and Boma......Some things I liked, some not so much....

Hey! Glad you're back! I see you started your TR, I can't wait to hear all about the trip. So, what did you think of Kouzzina? Its Greek, right?

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Yes, Hoop will take you a bit more time, but not because of the show/ dinner per se, but more because of the transportation. If you have your own car, great, if now, allow about 45 before the show to get there. My advice, if taking WDW trans. is to take the boat from MK!! It lands on the side of the Fort that you will need to be on. If you do the bus, you'll have to transfer to another but once you get there. And then it's a small walk.

but trust me, once you've been , you'll find yourself singing Hoop-de-Doo for about a month.

So I've found out that they have three showings a night, about 2 hours apart. That means each sitting must be less than two hours. I was thinking longer than that. But we've spent two hours at any number of TS restaurants, especially those with characters. We usually eat around 5, and then go back to a park, so maybe this would fit in well on an MK day. Just take the boat back and forth.

 

[jordanyosh]

Hey! Glad you're back! I see you started your TR, I can't wait to hear all about the trip. So, what did you think of Kouzzina? Its Greek, right?

It was one of my favorite meals...Greekish.....

 

[hlrababy]

Hey!! I am joining in now...better late than never right!

I am all caught up!!! I am loving your report!!!

 

[cinderella crazy]

Just read through your report so far. Love it! I think I remember seeing your name on the other Disney discussion board you were talking about in your first post. I've always thought your name was cute (my 3 year old daughter used to call her Sleeping Booty too).

As for what type of diners we are, we really enjoy character meals and buffets. I'm probably the most adventerous eater in our group so I really like going to Boma (since they have different things there).

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Hey!! I am joining in now...better late than never right!

I am all caught up!!! I am loving your report!!!

Thanks for joining in! I've seen you post on other TRs and I've always thought you've got such a great smile in your avatar picture!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Just read through your report so far. Love it! I think I remember seeing your name on the other Disney discussion board you were talking about in your first post. I've always thought your name was cute (my 3 year old daughter used to call her Sleeping Booty too).

As for what type of diners we are, we really enjoy character meals and buffets. I'm probably the most adventerous eater in our group so I really like going to Boma (since they have different things there).

Hi there! to the fun! Do you spend much time on that other board? I used to, but I guess I got a little bored with it. Ever since I discovered the great people on the trip report boards here on the Dis - I knew I was home!

Buffets are great - my kids get to eat something besides chicken fingers and macaroni! I love Boma, too. But I'm just afraid my parents won't be too into it. I think it probably won't make the list this time, unfortunately.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Ch. 13 Taking the planning to another level

Extreme geek that I am, I’ve been working on another PowerPoint presentation to help my family decide on ADR’s. First I made a list of all the table service restaurants that are on the dining plan, with the exception of the restaurants that require 2 credits. We’ll save those for an adults only trip, I think. I also added the three dinner shows; Mickey’s Backyard BBQ, The Hoop De Doo Review, and The Spirit of Aloha to the list. I organized the list by location and put it in a spreadsheet so I could keep track of which restaurants I had photos of, and which I still needed to find.

Then I scoured the web for photos of the various restaurants. I was looking for one photo of the interior of each to give an idea of the ambience, and one food porn shot. Once I had this compiled I was able to start working on the PowerPoint.

Here are a few pics I'm using:

San Angel Inn​

The Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream​

Kona Cafe​

I initially started with an index page that listed every resort. You could click on each restaurant name and be taken to a page that featured the photos and a condensed version of the menu. When Scott looked at that huge list, even he was overwhelmed, so I thought that might be a bit much. I didn’t want my parents to see that page and gulp, “She’s going to make us look at every single one of these?”

So I reworked it a bit. Now the first page (after the title page, of course) is called “Past Favorites.” There are links to 10 restaurants that we’ve really enjoyed on past trips and would like to eat at again. I figured we can go through those and get an idea of how many of them to include on our list for this year.

I haven’t gotten to this yet, but I’ll then do a page listing the new (to us) restaurants we’d like to try. This way, we won’t have to go through every single menu – basically I’ll have narrowed down the choices to places I’ll be happy with. I will still make a page for each restaurant though, that way, if my mom or dad says, “Aren’t there any places that serve (fill in the blank),” I can say, “Why yes, let me show you.” And I’ll just navigate over to my handy dandy index page and find the appropriate restaurant.

I’m not exactly sure the best way to make the final decision. We could have each of us choose one meal – there are six of us, so that would only leave one leftover. Or, we could have everybody vote for their top three or five, and then fill out the list with the top vote getters.

As of now, I have Powerpoint pages for all the park restaurants and the Downtown Disney places. I just need to do the resort restaurants and the dinner shows, then I’ll be ready to link everything together. Our ADRs need to be made on March 22nd, so I think I’ll try to have the presentation finished by first weekend in March. We’ll have my parents over for dinner on a Friday and maybe I’ll do another theme meal to set the mood.

Click here for Ch.14 Disney Dining Utopia vs. Disney Dining Reality

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Rebecca, you are my hero. I wish I had half the planning skill you do! However, I gotta hand it to you, you are giving your family so many options...I'm more inclined to pick the places I want to go!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Rebecca, you are my hero. I wish I had half the planning skill you do! However, I gotta hand it to you, you are giving your family so many options...I'm more inclined to pick the places I want to go!

Oh trust me, I am definitely going to be lobbying for my choices! And probably, if I just sat down and made a list, everyone would be totally happy with my picks. I'm really only doing this because I'm trying to get my family to participate in the planning to some extent - its more fun than doing it all by myself. I would so love it if Scott would come home from work and initiate a discussion about our trip, or heaven help us - get on the Dis. But that ain't gonna happen. So this is my way of pulling everybody into my madness! Mwahaha