Party of 2, "your tiny table is ready" DR 2/16-2/23/17. Complete

[Disney Khi]

Thanks for the great reviews! I love Boma, so I would add that to my ADR list. I have not eaten at Tiffin's and want to try it, so I would add that one. I also really like Akershus for dinner, but maybe you all don't want a character meal. I also like Garden Grill, but it's also a character meal.

We have had an AP for a couple of years, and I really like it for the discounts. We went with a group of eight and really saved a lot with TIW. Now there are more discounts even without TIW at restaurants, and the merchandise discount is at 20% right now. Something that I didn't even think I would enjoy was the Memory Maker included with APs. I had never bought it, but I loved using it when we got it for free with APs. I like asking for the magic shots, and we actually got some really good family pictures with it.

 

[ariane37]

Hi Caroline! Well, WL is my favorite resort so it's hard for me not to choose that, but AP's/Poly does make more sense. When in Aug. are you going? We're planning to take the boys later in the month but haven't locked down days yet
For restaurants we LOVE Il Mulino at the Swan!

 

[TeresaNJ]

I never thought I'd want to pay to do an After Hours, but after reading about your experience, it's sounding like something we may want to do! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I agree with the AP and poly I think overall that is the best option especially for the discount and you'll
Probably end up going back. I think that you should try Kona if you are staying at the Poly

Thank you, I think the Poly with AP's is the way to go, will check out Kona as well!

Joining in! So glad you stayed at AKL, I love that resort. It's become very hard for me to book any other resort honestly. The theming and feel there just makes me feel like I'm home.... December is so far away lol


Skippers Canteen looks good! I've been debating about eating there this trip and may give it a shot for lunch.

I loved the AKL, really felt at home there and so comfortable, the Poly is a deep discount by a TA which gives a great rate around Labor Day, we probably could not afford the Poly otherwise. Give Skippers a try, very good appetizer and the atmosphere is fun!

I make it a point of always going to Sanaa, it would be on my must do ADRs. I agree, that if you know you are going back, APs are defintiely the most cost effective way!

We tried Sanaa and I agree it is wonderful, review coming a little later in the report. I think the Poly with renewal of our AP is the way to go. Andi graduates next year so I see us doing a winter trip in 2018 and maybe a summer one before college if we can swing it.

Thanks for the great reviews! I love Boma, so I would add that to my ADR list. I have not eaten at Tiffin's and want to try it, so I would add that one. I also really like Akershus for dinner, but maybe you all don't want a character meal. I also like Garden Grill, but it's also a character meal.

We have had an AP for a couple of years, and I really like it for the discounts. We went with a group of eight and really saved a lot with TIW. Now there are more discounts even without TIW at restaurants, and the merchandise discount is at 20% right now. Something that I didn't even think I would enjoy was the Memory Maker included with APs. I had never bought it, but I loved using it when we got it for free with APs. I like asking for the magic shots, and we actually got some really good family pictures with it.

I agree on Boma, we have been once and really enjoyed it. I really think we might do Tiffins, Andi really liked Skippers and Sanaa, so I think she will be open to trying it. Do you get a discount when renewing AP's? We would be able to get the 13 month for 12 as well so I think it is the best route. The 20% discount has been awesome, we have really used this often. I'm with you on Garden Grill we loved the food and characters, I will review our breakfast there soon. Thanks for the info.

Hi Caroline! Well, WL is my favorite resort so it's hard for me not to choose that, but AP's/Poly does make more sense. When in Aug. are you going? We're planning to take the boys later in the month but haven't locked down days yet
For restaurants we LOVE Il Mulino at the Swan!

Hi, Thank you for joining in, I read your review on Il Mulino and it looked really good! We have never stayed at WL so I was excited to try, but we get a super good discount with a TA for end of summer/Labor Day and the rates for the Poly are so good, WL is not one of the resorts the discounts are for. We will be there 8/27-9/4/17. This will be our third year doing this deal. Last August we stayed at GF and the year before at CR, loved both as well. Maybe we will be there the same time. I love the heat at that time, I know I am in the minority. It was a little chilly this past trip for us lol, that is really funny when I tell you I am from Northern Minnesota, one of the coldest places in the country. I don't belong here though, I belong in Florida ha, ha.

I never thought I'd want to pay to do an After Hours, but after reading about your experience, it's sounding like something we may want to do! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

Thank you for joining and welcome. The after hours was so worth it, I thought, and I was with you, when I first heard about the morning one I told my daughter why would anyone pay for that. Here is a picture so you can see the empty Main Street, we did everything available at least once except Space mountain because I am afraid of that one.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Day 2, Friday 2/17/17. More MK fun and food. BoG lunch, Tiana's ice cream social, Pecos Bill.
I wanted to give food totals from first day. The Mara was $38.01 with refillable mug and lunch. Skippers was $33.62 with 20%AP discount.

We had made plans to do EMH today before we found out about the After Hour party, so we did keep our original plans except we ditched the EMH and slept in until about 8am, our first FP+ was at 9:30 so we had a granola bar in the room before heading out. I had ordered some breakfast items, water, and snacks from Garden Grocer. Our room was close enough for me to go fill my mug with coffee from the Mara rather than make a whole pot for just me. In the DVC studios it is a full size coffe pot and just for your information there was only one regular coffee pack and one decaf pack, so if you like coffee and stay in a DVC bring more coffee and filters.

We arrived at MK around 9:30, we did PP, HM, 7DMT,before our 11:00 ADR at BoG. In October, we did not have a very good experience at BoG, the CM's were cranky, harried and the place was very chaotic and messy. We decided to give it another try because we have loved it all the other times. We checked in and the CM's were more pleasant. We had preordered, however, we still had to go in the same line as everyone else because we were the first ADR time at lunch, so really didn't save much time. Once we got to the kiosk it was quick because our order showed up with our magic band. We sat in the Ballroom by the snowy windows. I ordered the Braised Pork and Andi ordered the Croque Monsieur. We shared the Master's cupcake. BoG redeemed itself!! Our food was very good, the pork was so tasty, the meat was tender, juicy, with very delicious carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy. The green beans were so good, they are Al dente. Andi's sandwich was fresh and tasty, she gets this every time. The cupcake was moist and delicious. Two thumbs up here, no AP discount here, our total bill was $38.31. I really do think the first seating for lunch is less hectic and food is better.


We did more attractions and shopping before the 2:30 Tiana's ice cream party. We checked in at the Liberty Belle dock area, we received a sticker and some Mardi Gras beads. The party was on the dock area, you received ice cream, three flavors to choose from (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry). There were topping stations with chocolate sauce, candy pearls, and gummy bears. We were each given a tray with three different cupcakes on it, these were small not big cupcakes. The ice cream sundae was very good, the cupcake treats were okay, two were vanilla and one was chocolate. Tiana and Naveen were available to meet before the parade as well. We met them then went on the Libery Belle to view FoF parade. Andi and I went to the top level of the Belle toward the left and had a great view of the parade. On the boat there was popcorn, ice cream bars, and fruit. There also was unlimited coke products as well. I thought this view of the parade was really nice. This was the first time I have watched the whole parade so that was great. Tiana and Naveen came onto the boat after the parade and we circled around river. There was only a small group of people doing this so much room on the boat to interact with them. Both were so nice and talkative. I probably would not do this again, but it was fun. The treats were okay, it is not like a dessert party as far as options go. The cost was $49.00 a person and I paid ahead of time, and I don't recall any AP or Disney Visa discount. The weather was perfect for this, sunny but not to hot.


We went back to AKL after this to rest. I was craving nachos for dinner, at Disney I crave hot dogs and nachos lol. We went to Pecos Bill for nachos and a raspberry lemonade slushee. The nachos here don't disappoint! There is plenty of taco seasoned beef, chips, and queso below the beef, we added pico de gallo, guacamole, and more cheese. Yummy junk food goodness. I think you get the biggest bang for your dollars here. I have seen the fajita platter here and it is huge. Our total here was $14.21 with AP discount.


We then watched Wishes and went back to AKL for a good nights sleep.

 

[Raeven]

I always crave nachos at Disney too! Those look so good!

 

[Disney Khi]

I love your pictures! You are making me hopeful to take trips with my DD when she is a teenager. (She's only 7 now.)

And, yes, there is a discount for renewing AP's.

 

[TeresaNJ]

The ice cream social sounds fun! So I'm assuming the close the Riverboat down for the rest of the guests during that time period? Is it still open for normal rides before and after the social, do you know?

 

[Sailormoon2]

They may not have tasted amazing, but those Tiana cupcakes look adorable!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

Loving your review so far! Those nachos look so yummy!

 

[JuniorSkipper]

I love those fun Mickey straws! Tiana and naveen are always so nice. The ice cream looks good too

 

[disneyholic family]

beautiful pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for taking the time to share with us!

 

[1andrea]

Great reviews looking forward to more xx

 

[disneyAndi14]

I always crave nachos at Disney too! Those look so good!

I am with you I love the Disney nachos! I have yet to try them at Mexico in Epcot, I see good things about them there.

I love your pictures! You are making me hopeful to take trips with my DD when she is a teenager. (She's only 7 now.)

And, yes, there is a discount for renewing AP's.

Thanks for the info, I am planning to renew and stay at Poly! My daughter and I have been doing these trips together since 2010. We have so much fun together. My husband and son do not have any interest in Disney after their two trips. They go fishing we go to Disney!

The ice cream social sounds fun! So I'm assuming the close the Riverboat down for the rest of the guests during that time period? Is it still open for normal rides before and after the social, do you know?

Yes the riverboat is closed to the general park goers until after the little party, it was about 1&1/2 hours total. It is still open for everyone before and after. I was surprised how nice of a view of the parade we had. I was a bit skeptical at first. I enjoyed it but once is probably enough!

They may not have tasted amazing, but those Tiana cupcakes look adorable!

The cupcakes were so cute, the chocolate one was really tasty, the other two were a little dry. The CM's were so nice during the party and it really was a fun way to see the parade.

Loving your review so far! Those nachos look so yummy!

I highly recommend them, I had never ate at Pecos Bill until our last trip and was very happy to discover the nachos.

I love those fun Mickey straws! Tiana and naveen are always so nice. The ice cream looks good too

Thank you, we had so much fun, you look very familiar lol!

beautiful pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for taking the time to share with us!

, so happy to have some comments! My daughter is good about getting the food pictures, I always forget lol!

Great reviews looking forward to more xx

Thank you for joining in, more good food shortly

 

[disneyAndi14]

Before I start the next review I want to thank everyone who offered some dining choices and their thoughts on the Poly or WL. I really think the AP renewal and the stay at the Poly is the way to go. I did make a few ADR's Ohana, Bon Voyage breakfast, BoG dinner, Via Napoli, Homecoming, and Teppan Edo. I will probably change around some and add to this but for now I have a good start.

2/18/17, Day 3. Yak and Yeti lunch and Chef de France dinner.

I changed reservations several times for this day, we initially had a Boma breakfast, then a TH breakfast with ROL seating, however Andi did not want to change our Epcot FP+ in the evening or cancel Chefs so we decided we would wait and see ROL on our August trip, good reason to go back right?

We did EMH at AK and we were hungry by 11:00am so we went to one of our favorite places Yak and Yeti. I have the Landry card so I never make an ADR and we were seated quickly upstairs in the room with the windows overlooking the park. We had an awesome waitress. I had a Diet Coke and Andi had ice water. I have had the Chicken Tikka Masala the last two visits here and was feeling something else. I decided on the Kobe beef burger and Andi got her usual Honey Chicken. The burger was the bomb! It was so delicious. I had it topped with the shiitake mushrooms and scallion compote. The sesame-soy mayonnaise was very tasty as well. I usually never can eat a whole burger and I just about ate the whole thing. The French fries were very good.

Andi enjoyed her honey chicken with the jasmine rice, she even eats her vegetables here lol! The chicken was flavorful, crunchy, and moist. We saved room for the Fried wontons for dessert These are served wth pineapple, vanilla sauce, and vanilla ice cream. These are so good when you mix a little of all the components together. I was so full after this lunch and very satisfied with the meal. I had a $100.00 gift card from Landry's Christmas promotion so I used this and racked up some points on my Landry card. The total was $58.00, you can also get a 10% AP discount or the Landry points.


We headed back out to do a few more attractions at AK, I love dinosaur, I really can't explain why, I just do. It had been closed for refurb our last two trips so we made up for lost time and brought back a dinosaur "extra large". We went back to AKL to relax before heading over to Epcot. We did our 3 FP+ and went to check in at our ADR, it was about 7:30 and I really was not even hungry after our big lunch, I thought about getting the Lobster Bisque and a salad, but that just sounded to rich so I went with the Vegetarian lasagne, this was eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, and onion baked in pasta with a light tomato sauce. This a ratatouille to me. Remy didn't show up though bummer! Andi had the Gratin de macaroni, baked with cream and Gruyere cheese. We both enjoyed our dishes, mine was very flavorful and I love eggplant. I really couldn't even put a dent in it. The mac and cheese was very good as well. We also had a nice crusty baguette which was soft on the inside, very delicious. We had a tiny table right in the middle of the traffic flow, we were bumped several times. The waitress was very nice and efficient. We both had ice water to drink. We did not have dessert this night, we were stuffed! We would give the food two thumbs up here, however very loud, busy place. We did not get a discount here, our cost was $49.32.

We then headed back to AKL, we were very tired.

 

[Sailormoon2]

That burger looks enormous!!! And your daughter's plate of looks delicious too, lots of vegetables! YUM!

 

[ariane37]

Tiana's party does look like fun, I've watched the FoF parade so many times that seeing it from a different perspective is somewhat intriguing.
We haven't been to Pecos Bill's in years because the menu didn't excite us but I keep hearing about the nachos, so we may have to stop in there soon!
Love the ride wontons at Y&Y but what really looks good to me is Andi's Gratin de Macaroni!

 

[JaimeAyers]

Signing on to hear more!

 

[JuniorSkipper]

The pineapple with the wontons is my fave part

 

[kastoney]

Tiana's party looks like a ton of fun. Casey would be in heaven with ice cream and a Princess!!! And love Andi's monorail ears.

We skipped out on RoL this trip too. It was starting while we were there and they gave passes to AP holders, but like Andi Casey didn't want to give up our evening plans (which I think were Epcot too).

We always love Yak and Yeti. I was this close to trying the burger, sad I didn't. We ended up just sharing a bunch of apps instead.

To your earlier question on food, first great choice with Homecomin' we really enjoyed it on our trip. Morimotos was great too if you wanted to give it a whirl. Have you all done Beaches and Cream recently? Its always a fun and good meal.

Sounds like the poly is probably your better choice for August, but have you factored in upgrading the tickets that come with WL? May make a difference. Of course if you get new AP's a cheaper poly rate may come out before then