Put a Mickey On It!! First timers- Deluxe Dining Report 11/29-12/4- UPDATED 12/24!!

[lobsterkmd]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Kristin, and I just returned (literally a few hours ago) from a very Magical Week at Disney World- we stayed at the Yacht Club and had the Deluxe Dining Plan for 6 nights. I am so new to this Dining Report thing but I am huge foodie and I hope that you will enjoy my reviews.

So without further ado. I will introduce the cast:

Me: As I said before, my name's Kristin- I have only been to Disney a few times in my life- the last being over 11 years ago- when I visited right after I graduated High School. I am a full-time bartender and mother to a very fun little girl named Sophia:

Sophia: Sophia is 9 years old, a little peanut, and a very adventurous eater- normally doesn't order off of the kids menu- but with the Deluxe Dining plan was going to have to give it the college try. This was Sophia's first trip to Disney World- so it was an even more special week.

Meme- My mother- Sophia's grandmother. She met us on Wednesday afternoon- and stayed for the rest of the week so she could experience Sophia's first trip.

Now for the TRIP!!

I purchased the Deluxe Dining Plan with my room- because we are not huge eaters- but we like to eat good. So my plan was two meals a day. A table service for breakfast or lunch and a signature for dinner. I booked the trip at 100 days out- and have legitimately spent 100 days booking, tweaking and changing reservations- REPEAT! Ohh and then to through a wrench in the whole thing at about 25 days out- Meme booked a ticket to join us- So back to the drawing board it was- adding a person here, changing another reservation there.. it was definitely a lot of work.

The credit breakdown.... We will have 54 TS credits to use and 36 snacks. Prior to the start of the trip- I had everything planned to use all 54 TS credits. This however would change as the week went on... and I ended up with a whole lot leftover.

Stay tuned for the line-up and my reviews (as well as my first attempt at taking pictures of everything I ate- I kind of stunk at this...)

 

[lobsterkmd]

And now I present to you.... THE LINKS page

*How this thread got it's name* Added 12/5

DAY ONEArrival Day
Jiko

DAY TWO
Breakfast: 1900 Park Fare
Dinner: Yachtsman (Scratch That- More info on that later)
Beaches and Cream
MVMCP

DAY THREE
Lunch: Hollywood Brown Derby
Meme Arrives
Dinner: Citricos

DAY FOUR
Breakfast: Akershus' Princess Dining
Dinner: Cinderella's Royal Table

Day Five
Lunch: Sanaa
Dinner: California Grill

Day Six
Lunch: Hollywood Brown Derby (was originally supposed to be 50's Prime Time but we overslept!)
Dinner: Flying Fish

Day Seven
Breakfast: Cape May Cafe

 

[Aulika]

can't wait for your first reviews as I will tryp the DXDP next week

 

[lobsterkmd]

can't wait for your first reviews as I will tryp the DXDP next week

Thanks for joining in!! I am very excited to write them!! stay tuned tomorrow- after I get some more sleep for some reviews!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Signing in!

 

[lobsterkmd]

Okay I am just about ready to get started on the reviews- all the pictures are now uploaded to photobucket, but I felt like I should explain the name of my Dining Review first.

I am HUGE fan of the show Portlandia- if you haven't watched it and like SNL, the Office etc then you definitely should cause you would love it. Anyway, it's basically little comedy shorts- and here is one of our favorites.
Link to Portlandia Clip "Put a Bird on it"
Although I don't let Sophia watch the whole show, I let her watch that clip and it was one of the running jokes of the trip. It started with her seeing the Swan Hotel and saying "Look mom- they sure know how to make things pretty here in Disney- they 'Put a Bird On It".

We would joke about it throughout our stay, and then towards the end- it turned from 'Put a Bird on It' to 'Put a Mickey on it'. I cracked up when she put on her T-shirt one morning- and it was just a plain grey T- and she said to me "Look Mom, I can make this plain sad shirt pretty, by putting a Mickey on it.." and then she stuck one of the MANY Mickey stickers we acquired this trip right on it.

 

[lobsterkmd]

Today was our check-in day. My original plan was to arrive at the hotel at noon- have lunch at Beaches and Cream and then head to Animal Kingdom and finish up with Dinner at Jiko.

Well when we arrived Sophia was too excited to eat- so we skipped Beaches and Cream and headed straight to AK- we got a couple snacks- Popcorn and a Jalapeno Cream Cheese Pretzel and rode some rides. We found ourselves pretty hungry around 5 so we called and had our Jiko reservation changed to a little earlier (it was originally for 6:30- changed it to 5:45)

We were seated at Jiko within a few minutes of arriving. It smelled fantastic in there- and the ambiance was wonderful. We were told that the wall usually changes color but it hasn't been working lately. Ohh well.

I ordered a Margarita to start- it was delicious! and Sophia had a Soda. The chef sent over a little amuse for both of us- it was a citrus type of couscous- whatever it was it was delicious- and both Sophia and I finished it off.

For Appetizer- Sophia had the Fruit Salad- She loved it and ate every bite!

I ordered the Beef Bobotie Roll- These were amazing- spicy, well-seasoned and perfectly paired with the cucumber salad and pickled vegetables. I ate them all...

So far so good... Sophia ordered the Kids Beef Tenderloin for her Entree. She again ate so well- she ate all the steak and the strawberry and left the mashies. She is a huge steak eater- it's definitely her favorite food.

For dinner I ordered the Oak Grilled Filet Mignon. This would be the last Filet I would order on the trip, which is funny because when I was doing all the planning- I thought I would eat steak every night.

This steak was just okay- I ordered it Medium- it was cooked perfectly but it tasted grainy and a little tough- I had trouble cutting it towards the end- and then even more trouble trying to chew it. The mushrooms were a bit too much for me in the sauce- I would have liked more of the risotto. Ohh well- it definitely wasn't the best meal I have ever had- and I can't say it was the worst of the trip- but I really looking back wished I had ordered something else- like the Shrimp Curry or the Bunny Chow.

For Dessert (sorry I didn't take any pics of these- I am such a newbie darn it!) I ordered the Madagascar cheesecake- it was okay again. It tasted as if it had been in the fridge for a few days, and the crust was so hard I couldn't cut through it with my spoon- and the server had taken away my knife!!

Sophia had the Jiko Fun-Do. She liked it- and ate a few bites- but after her big meal was ready to throw in the towel and head back to the room.

We cabbed it back to the Yacht Club and fell asleep as soon as I had set the alarm early for our 1900 Park Fare reservations.

We now have 50 TS meals remaining

 

[starousse]

Looking forward to your reviews

 

[lobsterkmd]

Sophia and I woke up bright and early to head over to Grand Floridian for our 8:20 1900 Park Fare Reservation. It was also our first Character meal of the trip. Since this is Sophia's first trip to Disney I felt like it was extra special. Sophia loved the GF lobby and after a short wait to get our picture taken (not complimentary like the other dining places- and not put on your photo card). We were seated relatively close to the Buffet. I really liked the intimate feeling here- it was small enough that it never felt over crowded- and you could always see the characters walking by.

Uh-Oh! Someone just fell in love with Mickey Waffles!! Sophia also loved the juice here- Passion fruit- Orange- she drank almost three glasses- that's huge for her!

Here is a quick pick of on one of my plates from the buffet-

In one Mickey ear I have the ham- DELISH! Then in the other I have a Mickey Waffle with the Bananas Foster sauce- also yummy but it tasted a little burnt.

The hashbrowns were amazing- also a biscuit on there- and the lobster benedict- All was delicious. I wish I had more room- I would have eaten from the salmon bar, or had a make your own omelet. I finished with another trip and got some fruit... I am starting to feel a little cold coming on- and maybe I can nip it in the butt.

We were still munching when the characters started to come by. It was a perfect pace- with a very short wait between characters. And now the following pictures will be of Sophia and her new friends:

Awww.. Winnie!!

Love her face as she looks at Mary Poppins! So enchanted!

Alice was her favorite!! She loved the way she talked and the funny stories she told about her cat! So cute

And then of course- my favorite- the Mad Hatter! He was awesome! So funny! I wish I can remember everything he told Sophia but he had us both cracking up... and the faces he made in the pictures!

We finished up and headed over to Epcot for the day!

 

[stitchaholic]

we love Park Fare , lovely pics ! Can't wait to see more !

 

[Aulika]

Nice review !!!

 

[disneyquilter]

Great review so far!! We were at 1900 Park fare in 2009 and I have a picture of my kids with that same Alice! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[archdandy]

I'm in! I can't wait to read more. We had a 1900 PF ressie for this trip because I really wanted to get a picture with Alice but it was swapped out for The Wave breakfast buffet. I hope you guys had a magical trip!

 

[donnaf516]

We love 1900 Park Fare - for breakfast & dinner. Looks like you're having a great time! Cant' wait to read more

 

[mamaboogie]

Great reviews! Glad you enjoyed Jiko - we love it too!

Can't wait to read more

 

[tluvstink]

You are off to a great start and your daughter is adorable

I am looking forward to more.

Terri

 

[st4rrab0vemybed]

Great reviews so far, and looking forward to the rest! Your daughter is so cute, and has great taste in food for her age.

The breakfast buffet looks quite tasty, and it's so nice to see all the characters. I will be booking 1900 PF for my next trip w/ my mom.

 

[gobo2]

I love that show. The mickey angle is fabulous.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Joining in! Great reviews so far

I love the pics of Sophia with the characters at 1900 PF and have to agree in Mad Hatter being a favourite...he is awesome!

 

[librarygeek]

I like your reviews so far! We also did 1900 Park Fare breakfast last time we were there and it was great.