Saving Dole Whip Float Money (Update 2/27: TR Link Posted!)

[SnoopyDancer]

Hi and welcome!!! I think I know who you're talking about. Does willwriteforears ring a bell? She had some of the wittiest writing I've ever read on the DIS!

It's so amazing how you "remember" the days when Weird and I were just friends. That means you've really "seen" it all! Our friendship, our dating, and now our engagement! Hehe, soon (as in 2012 soon) it'll be our marriage! I love sharing these changes with DIS friends So glad you're here!

Yes, it was willwriteforears! She was a great writer and had funny musings. I'm really bad about not posting, but I'm going to try to get better. If people are willing to share their postings, the least I could do is comment every now and then. I can't wait to read more about your plans!

 

[RachelNinja]

I missed it again! Well, you posted fourteen minutes ago, so maybe you're making one right now...I'll hang around for a bit to see...

Hehe, I actually have one waiting in the wings. I was thinking about possibly posting more than one a day, more like posting it whenever I have one ready. However, now that work started again, I think I'd do that and then go days without being able to post one. It might be easier to keep it steady at one a day. So that's a hint to ya! Since I already posted, you don't have to wait around for another one. MOST likely I won't post 2 in the same day unless I end up making up a lot at once because then I could do a bonus round!

Dang nabbit! I missed it for the 4th time. I'm beginning to notice a pattern, how about you? I was closer this time! I will definitely be checking again tomorrow. Can't wait for the next round!

Yup, check again tomorrow! Hope you can play and guess!

Yes, it was willwriteforears! She was a great writer and had funny musings. I'm really bad about not posting, but I'm going to try to get better. If people are willing to share their postings, the least I could do is comment every now and then. I can't wait to read more about your plans!

I always find it interesting when I come across a TR that has excellent writing that makes me not miss tons of pictures! I try to make sure I have both because I know I'm not as good of a writer, haha. So I'll have writing with stories as well as pictures!

Yes! Feel free to post whenever you feel like it!

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

Hey Rachel.

Yay for Dole Whip money!

The shirts are so cute! the bags they came in are so cute too!

The word game is such a cool idea. I hope I can be alert enough to play

 

[RachelNinja]

Character Scrambler "Hint"

Just as an FYI to you all, I'll MOST likely only be posting one round a day. As I replied to Joni's comment above, I was thinking about posting the round whenever I have it made, but the school year is going to make that rather difficult! Haha, I might be spending more time on making up this game than making up lesson plans! There's only a slight possibility I'd do 2 in a day to throw in a bonus round or something, but it's not AS likely.

I'm usually one round ahead so I can post it whenever I want, but again, that was before I went back to work today! Keep in mind that since I'll be at work during school hours, you don't need to worry about my posting it in the middle of the day. Basically, on a day that I have work, if it's not posted by 7:30am, it won't be posted until I get home from work, which would be around 4pm (unless I start after school tutoring again, which means it'll be later).

So just remember:
(1) Most likely only 1 round a day (99% sure on this)!
(2) Won't be posting between 7:30am-4pm on a regular work day!

Glad to see that people are having fun! Makes me excited to keep making this game!

 

[RachelNinja]

Hey Rachel.

Yay for Dole Whip money!

The shirts are so cute! the bags they came in are so cute too!

The word game is such a cool idea. I hope I can be alert enough to play

Yay Joanna!!! I'm so excited about the fact that I have Dole Whip Float money! Haha, now I'm working on that cheddar cheese soup from Le Cellier. I thought Matt was learning the value of a dollar, but I guess he's not! Works for me ... not for him!

Thanks! I hope you can play too!

 

[peterpanlover96]

Character Scrambler "Hint"

...Basically, on a day that I have work, if it's not posted by 7:30am, it won't be posted until I get home from work, which would be around 4pm (unless I start after school tutoring again, which means it'll be later).

So just remember:
(1) Most likely only 1 round a day (99% sure on this)!
(2) Won't be posting between 7:30am-4pm on a regular work day!

I'm hoping it's posted after work because I'll be busy in the mornings. Oh well I can always play the ones posted after you work

 

[RachelNinja]

I'm hoping it's posted after work because I'll be busy in the mornings. Oh well I can always play the ones posted after you work

You'll have a chance today then, Gabbie, because I'm not posting it until later today! Gonna make everyone read my babble first, haha.

 

[RachelNinja]

Anticipating Our 2 ADRs!

Not related to Disney food since we're eating McD's apple pies (I'm on the left, Dani's on the right way back when we were in HS), but this is the first time Dani tried an apple pie! I told her she had to finally experience it. Haha, so it's appropriate in the sense that I'm narrowing down restaurant choices for us!

Because we're staying off property, there's no way to be on the dining plan. Even if we were on property, we probably wouldn't do DDP anyway because it's a ton of money for a ton of food that we probably wouldn't want to eat. Even though we may be spending a good amount of money at these following 2 places, we're hoping it'll be worth every cent!

Before this trip was even discussed, I had posted a link to an article I found via DIS on my Facebook wall about Le Cellier. It was about whether or not Le Cellier is really worth the hype: http://www.disunplugged.com/2010/08/22/le-cellier-at-epcot-worth-the-hype/. Danielle read it and this is the conversation we had about this link:

Dani: man i wanna go! the cheddar soup and pretzel bread sound amazing!

Rae: it does sound so good! plus, they have really good steaks and filets. i've read about it so much that i want to go and ORDER MEAT! haha, by CHOICE! and then for dessert, there's a chocolate mousse dessert that's shaped to look like a moose because le cellier is in canada in epcot.

Dani: that's soo cute!!! i wanna goooooooooooo!!!

Rae: if you do hogwarts next yr, are you gonna hit wdw too? if so, i'll let you know what restaurants to try!

Dani: it's definitely an option because i don't think we can go to hogwarts everyday (although my coworker did in the early mornings to ride the famous castle ride)....i'll let u know so u can let me know! i wish we could go together!

Well, like I said that was before we had this trip planned! It actually less than 2 weeks later that we decided to plan this one! Of course, the first order of business was to secure a reservation at Le Cellier.

I was afraid that there wouldn't be any choices available, but surprisingly, there were! It was way past the 180 day mark, but there were still options from which I could choose. I was pleasantly surprised about that. We are going for lunch because the prices are cheaper. Oh man, are we excited!

Dani and I already know we're having the DIS meal, which is the cheddar cheese soup with yummy pretzel bread, filet with mushroom risotto for me and cream cheese mashed potatoes for her (she does NOT like mushrooms, haha), and the chocolate moose for dessert! There are a few other things that interest me, for example, the tomato stack, but I know I have to try the things I've been looking at for years! We are constantly drooling when we talk about it. Plus, I made their obsession worse because in our huge email chain, I sent them pictures of the food! Hehe, I'm kinda evil getting them to crave it this much. Hopefully, it'll live up to the hype for us!

Okay, so that's one fancy-shmancy meal for us, but it seems only appropriate for us to have another one especially since we're going to have 2 non-park days to relax. Since I read all the trip reports and dining reviews here, I narrowed down the resort restaurants to a few that I'm interested in trying. I sent them information about the 4 restaurants that are also all buffets. This is taken straight from the emails.

Restaurant: Cape May Cafe for the Clam Bake Dinner Buffet
Location: Beach Club Resort
Price: $26.99 for dinner (5:30pm - 9:30pm)
Food: All American Clambake (like they have in New England) buffet featuring seafood things and BBQ ribs.
Menu Link: http://allears.net/menu/menu_cmc.htm
Comments: Although this place sounds really yummy to me, I mentioned it to Howard and we both thought that maybe it wasn't the SMARTEST of ideas since we're kind of allergic to some seafood (eating it, not being around it). However, there are BBQ things there that I heard were good (the ribs) and the soups and sides are supposed to be good too. Of course, the seafood is the main thing. I don't know how you guys, Dani and Ray, feel about seafood.

Restaurant: Trail's End Buffet
Location: Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Price: $16.99 for lunch, $22.99 for dinner
Food: Barbecue-type/Western-y food with fried chicken, pulled pork, chili, mac and cheese
Menu Link: http://allears.net/menu/menu_teb.htm
Comments: This is one of those places that I haven't read that much about, but from what I did read, everyone liked it. The reason why it's not as popular as a place like Le Cellier is because of its location. Most people don't want to bother going out there unless they have a car. Because of that, there's more of a cult following for this restaurant. The people who are willing to go there and try it, go back constantly because it's kind of like a "secret." I read about it in a few trip reports, and it was also mentioned in one of the latest issues of Celebrations magazine (a Disney magazine Howard and I get).

Restaurant: Boma
Location: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Price: $30.88 for dinner (5:00pm-10:00 p.m.)
Food: Food that has more African flavors.
Menu Link: http://allears.net/menu/menu_bomadin.htm
Comments: This one is obviously more expensive because the food is very different than the food at the other buffets. HF and I plan on trying this place during our honeymoon since we'll be at Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is the place to go if you wanted something more adventurous. I know the soups and dips (hummus and such) are really good and unique. People also really like the carving stations (haha, although I haven't quite focused that much on those because it's meat). There'd be the issue of "Did I eat enough to warrant a $31 dinner?"

Restaurant: 'Ohana
Location: Polynesian Resort
Price: $34.99 for dinner (5:00pm-10:00pm)
Food: Food is brought to the tables family style. Everyone starts off with salad, potstickers, chicken wings, noodles, and veggies. Then they come around with skewers of meat; they'll push the meat off the big skewers onto your plate. There are dipping sauces and then a bread pudding with bananas foster.
Menu Link: http://allears.net/menu/menu_oh.htm
Comments: This is one of the restaurants that I've heard only good reviews about. It's in the Polynesian and even by its name, you see it's more of a Hawaiian themed restaurant.

Danielle wrote back (the email chain planning is mainly between Danielle and me), and she said that although Cape May sounds good especially because they like seafood, if it's not the best choice for Howard and me, we should go elsewhere. She was really intrigued by 'Ohana because she always wanted to try a place where they bring the meat out on skewers. The dipping sauces even make me want to have meat!

I then remembered that you can watch Wishes from 'Ohana, so I found out that Wishes is at 8pm, so I got a reservation at 'Ohana on that Thursday of the week at 7:05pm! I think that should be good timing for Wishes, right? I read that they pipe in the music and stop all the festivities, so that'll definitely be an experience. I think that 'Ohana is the kind of restaurant that is way more fun with a larger group instead of just 2, so this is another one we're all really excited to try!

So what are your thoughts about these 2 restaurants? Do you order the typical DIS choices from Le Cellier? Any other dishes you really love? What about 'Ohana? Which dipping sauce do you like the best? Why oh why did they have to include noodles instead of that potato dish I read about?!?

 

[klacey1]

I hope LeCeillier lives up to the hype for you guys! Lunch is definitely a good option if you're paying OOP!
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but we actually HATED Ohana! It was the meal for which I was most excited, and it totally let me down. Didn't like any of the sauces, thought the noodles were too sweet, the wings were slimy and fatty. I LOVE meat and only liked the steak-- however, we only got one piece before our server disappeared. We flagged him down twenty minutes later to ask for more steak, he brought shrimp ten minutes after that and then was insulted when we said we didn't want any. Awful service. The bread pudding was sooooo amazing, though! I still think about how good that dessert was-- definitely my favorite at WDW!
The food just wasn't too our tasting, but I know how many other people love it. Honestly, if I was on the DDP, I'd go for the dessert alone! The view of Wishes was awesome, too. I bet you'll have a great time! We had bad luck with our server, but hopefully you guys won't!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Well, you know I love LeCellier and ALWAYS order the mushroom filet with mashed potatoes instead of the risotto. I get the maple creme brulee for dessert though - so good!

I know we are totally in the minority, but I have to agree with Kylie on 'Ohana. We did not care for it at all. The meat was tough and dry and our service was incredibly slow. This was 5 years ago though, it very well could be much better now - of course I'll never know because I won't go back, it was that bad......

 

[peterpanlover96]

Yummy food choices! I hope whatever one you pick you will really like I always hear to never go to buffet's but those sound very yummy! I hope to see your scrambler up soon!

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi Rachel!

Good restaurant choices.. I've not been to 'Ohana (yet!) but heard mostly good things about it.. sounds like a lot of food!! your timing for Wishes sounds right though

I've been to Cape May Cafe several times.. love it!! they have paper table cloths & pots of crayons so you can draw all over it (hmm maybe it's meant to be for kids, but I like to draw too! )
Last year we went there with DF's family, his sister doesn't eat any fish or seafood at all but found plenty to eat there

Le Cellier.. last year, I actually ordered a pork chop instead of steak, and it was delicious! DF had the salmon which also looked delicious... we shared a trio appetiser to start (includes the cheddar soup!) and DF had a maple creme brulee for dessert which he loved.

Soo many restaurants to pick from! I like your email descriptions to Dani, I hope she's impressed!


Emma x

 

[RachelNinja]

I hope LeCeillier lives up to the hype for you guys! Lunch is definitely a good option if you're paying OOP!
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but we actually HATED Ohana! It was the meal for which I was most excited, and it totally let me down. Didn't like any of the sauces, thought the noodles were too sweet, the wings were slimy and fatty. I LOVE meat and only liked the steak-- however, we only got one piece before our server disappeared. We flagged him down twenty minutes later to ask for more steak, he brought shrimp ten minutes after that and then was insulted when we said we didn't want any. Awful service. The bread pudding was sooooo amazing, though! I still think about how good that dessert was-- definitely my favorite at WDW!
The food just wasn't too our tasting, but I know how many other people love it. Honestly, if I was on the DDP, I'd go for the dessert alone! The view of Wishes was awesome, too. I bet you'll have a great time! We had bad luck with our server, but hopefully you guys won't!

Yup, since we're paying OOP, we definitely wanted to do lunch! Plus, we can eat lunch and then still enjoy the rest of the afternoon/night instead of stressing the whole time that we have to be in that area to get to our ADR in time. Haha, that's what I'd be doing.

Thanks for the 'Ohana mini review! I copied and pasted it to send in the email to everyone. I did read some bad reviews about the service but figured we'd be able to deal with it if the food was good. We'll see if we decide to keep it or change it! My main issue is that I'm afraid to spend that much money on a meal that's not good!

Well, you know I love LeCellier and ALWAYS order the mushroom filet with mashed potatoes instead of the risotto. I get the maple creme brulee for dessert though - so good!

I know we are totally in the minority, but I have to agree with Kylie on 'Ohana. We did not care for it at all. The meat was tough and dry and our service was incredibly slow. This was 5 years ago though, it very well could be much better now - of course I'll never know because I won't go back, it was that bad......

I have a feeling that Dani might decide to switch to creme brulee! It might work though if we get different desserts to taste. I'm just not a creme brulee person. Too many things I want to try at all these different restaurants!

Thanks for your opinion too! I did see a few of those reviews that said the service was HORRIBLE. Like I say to Kylie, I was hoping it didn't have anything to do with the food. I know it can be hit or miss, like whether you get the meat right when it's finished cooking or you get the meat that's been sitting there over the flame for a while. We'll see what happens! Who knows, maybe we'll end up at Cape May or Trail's End!

Yummy food choices! I hope whatever one you pick you will really I always hear to never go to buffet's but those sound very yummy! I hope to see your scrambler up soon!

Yeah, I don't typically like buffets especially knowing that they can be dirty because so many people handle the food. I think that's why I'll never go to Chef Mickey's! Haha, unless it's like, the first seating or something. But the character buffets don't entice me anyway because I just wanna eat, haha. I do, however, want to try the buffets that I listed. They seem to be more ... adult-oriented? I just want good food!!! Yum!

Hi Rachel!

Good restaurant choices.. I've not been to 'Ohana (yet!) but heard mostly good things about it.. sounds like a lot of food!! your timing for Wishes sounds right though

I've been to Cape May Cafe several times.. love it!! they have paper table cloths & pots of crayons so you can draw all over it (hmm maybe it's meant to be for kids, but I like to draw too! )
Last year we went there with DF's family, his sister doesn't eat any fish or seafood at all but found plenty to eat there

Le Cellier.. last year, I actually ordered a pork chop instead of steak, and it was delicious! DF had the salmon which also looked delicious... we shared a trio appetiser to start (includes the cheddar soup!) and DF had a maple creme brulee for dessert which he loved.

Soo many restaurants to pick from! I like your email descriptions to Dani, I hope she's impressed!

Emma x

Hi Emma! I think Wishes during dinner would be such an experience!!! I know they do it elsewhere like at the California Grill, but this is just a cheaper way to do it, haha. Hopefully, saving money won't mean losing out on good food!

Like I said above, I copied and pasted the 'Ohana reviews to send in the emails, but I also copied and pasted what you said about Cape May! Thanks for letting me know that there's still plenty to eat even for non-seafood lovers. I do like seafood; I just can't eat too much of it if it's in the shell. I do eat fish though!

We're all REALLY looking forward to Le Cellier. Haha, but we're also all really looking forward to dipping our french fries in some hot cheese sauce!

 

[RachelNinja]

Character Scrambler: Round 5

Directions
1. Figure out the word or words for each clue.
2. Identify the mystery letter from each clue.
3. Unscramble all the mystery letters to reveal the mystery character, which will be a character in any Disney movie!

Clue #1 (2 words / 1st letter of 2nd word): __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
This counter service restaurant in Epcot has lightning on the walls over the lovely items we use to keep us dry from the rain.

Clue #2 (2 words / 5th letter of 1st word): __ __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ __ __ __
During Star Wars Weekends, Donald dresses up as this character from Star Wars.

Clue #3 (1 word / 4th letter): __ __ __ __
If you have this credit card, you can go take a picture with characters in Innoventions at Epcot and then get one printout for free!

Clue #4 (4 words / 5th letter of 3rd word): __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ __
Want a Cobb salad? Go to this restaurant!

Clue #5 (1 word / 5th letter): __ __ __ __ __ __
This is what 'ohana means.

Mystery Letters (scrambled): __ __ __ __ __
Mystery Character (unscrambled): __ __ __ __ __

Post your final answer when you're done. Have fun and good luck!

 

[peterpanlover96]

MULAN!!!!!

 

[RachelNinja]

MULAN!!!!!

Yay! You got to play, woohoo!!!

 

[peterpanlover96]

Yay! You got to play, woohoo!!!

I was soooo excited! I was jumping up and down I feel so accomplished

 

[not_Joanna_eggs]

As usual, I'm a day late and a dollar short, but I'm allergic to beer, so I couldn't have the beer cheese soup at Le Cellier, and I had the Spicy Chicken and Chipotle Sausage appetizer. It was served with these cheezy grits type thing - mmmmmmm...

DH's dad still talks about O'Hana's 9 months later - he loved it. It was good - not the best meal I've had at Disney - but good. The service was pretty stinky for us too. Like our waiter would disappear for 20 minutes at a time. The wings are great I randomly crave them - and we go to the lounge just to get the wings and a lapu lapu! The bread pudding was amazing too. It is a TON of food - even with a group with 2 guys that eat more than I could imagine - it was a ton of food.

Even though they don't pipe in the music, you could go to Kona (one of my favorites) earlier and go out to the beach and watch Wishes from the beach.

I haven't eaten at Cape May, but the 2 times that we walked by it, the seafood smell was overwhelming and unappetizing - and I LOVE seafood. I'm not sure I could eat there just because of the smell.

Just my 2 cents. I love making ADRs for trips! I'm so jealous

 

[therussells08]

I am becoming obsessed with your game already...I am determined to get at least one! It's so fun to play!!

Usually I am already at work by 7:30 so I miss the early morning rounds, so I need to work on checking right after work to see if there's a late afternoon round.

 

[klacey1]

Sorry my Ohana review was so negative, but I did just want you to know about our experience! I feel so honored that you passed along my thoughts to the others lol.
Now, I do know people LOVE Ohana (obviously, or it wouldn't be so difficult to get reservations there), so if you think you'd like the food, go for it! It just was not for us. Most things are VERY sweet-- especially the noodles and salad (something in the dress). We prefer a more savory palate. The wings were just disgusting, though. The potstickers were gray inside-- and I love making the frozen potstickers. I couldn't eat more than one of these. Too gross. Sorry for more negative thoughts, just want to give you the whole picture of our dinner.
AGAIN-- it IS popular, so if you think you'd like that Polynesian style of food, go for it!