So much food...but only gained 2 lbs!! COMPLETED 5/5

[sandym718]

12 days till we leave and 13 days till we arrive at the World!! Looking forward to another great trip and more wonderful dining!!

This is our 3rd week-long trip to WDW -3rd time at the Poly and on the DDP.

Who we are:

Me - Sandy - 33. Kind of picky, but I do like spicy. I don't like onions or seafood/fish of any kind. MAJOR sweet tooth, so the DDP and all those desserts is perfect!

DH - Dave - 38. Meat and Potatoes guy for sure! Will eat most anything, also not really into seafood though.

DS - Josh - 8. Will try most things! LOVES shrimp and is looking forward to having it a lot on our trip!

DD- Jessi -7. Picky, likes a lot of kid foods, but also a lot of vegetables. Hates almost all fruits except apples and grapes. Cannot stand the sight or smell of a banana!

You can see a photo of us on my PTR: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=40303865&posted=1#post40303865

Also traveling with us will by my sister, Angie (23) and her boyfriend, Matt (25). They're staying at CSR, we'll be doing most meals together.

We have no food allergies or special needs of any kind.

 

[sandym718]

Some history regarding past Disney dining:

TS Places we've tried:

Chef Mickey's - breakfast and dinner - both are good, not great food-wise, but it's a great place to see the characters

Crystal Palace - dinner 2x - a favorite!! LOVE the food and the restaurant is gorgeous. Kids are outgrowing Pooh bear -but I don't care!

Ohana - dinner - did this in 2009 and loved it! Meats are a little dry, but the sides are fabulous

Kona - dinner 2x- excellent in 2007, less so in 2009. We're skipping it this time.

WCC - dinner - OK food, not great. I love BBQ and this just didn't do it for me. GREAT cornbread, though. HORRIBLE service (not the antics, actual service) - took forever!

WPC - dinner 2x. Another favorite!

LeCellier - dinner 2x. Was such a favorite. Our traditional last night meal. Delicious choc-rasp shake, filet, cream cheese mashed potatoes, Chocolate Whiskey cake. Alas, the change has come....see more below on our plan!

T-Rex- dinner- good experience. Did this one for DS. Had to pay OOP.

CRT - lunch - just DD and I. Food was good, not great, but the experience can't be beat!!

 

[sandym718]

CS Places we've tried:

Cosmic Ray's - 2x - good food, great selection, something for everyone!! Don't love all the different bays but oh well.

Pecos Bills - - OK food, very crowded. No cheese sauce on the bar then.

Electric Umbrella - decent food, nothing too exciting

Sunshine Seasons - love it!! Great choices. Chicken and mashed potatoes to die for. Great dessert selection

Flame Tree - good, not great. Kids liked the chicken wings.

Earl of Sandwich- soooooo good! Not the best value on the DDP, but the sandwiches can't be beat

Lottawatta Lodge - eh, just OK. Waterpark food...

Captain Cook's - many times - really enjoy it. Selection isn't huge, but we like everything we've had!!


Snacks we like:

Dole Whip - DH is OBSESSED and will get one every day from CC's
Dole Float from Aloha Isle- I enjoy it
Cream Cheese Pretzel from Lunching Pad
Chocolate Chip Crossiants from CC's - MY nearly-everyday Obsession!!
Sno-cones - DS loves these
Ice cream bars - DS and kids enjoy
Ice cream sandwich - I love these instead of a bar
Ice cream sundaes from the Parlor - perfect while watching a parade!
Doh-Bar from Cooke's - HEAVEN on a stick!!
various cookies for the kids
Goofy's Candy Company - kids enjoy the cookies, I adore the chocolate dipped marshmallows and to a just slightly lesser degree, the pretzels

 

[sandym718]

Our plans for this trip:

Saturday, March 26 -- arrival day

lunch at Captain Cook's
dinner at Chef Mickey's

Sunday, March 27

lunch in MK (probably Cosmic Ray's)
dinner for us 4 at Biergarten - this is a new place we're trying. DH is really looking forward to it. Sister and her boyfriend are doing Tutto Italia

Monday, March 28

lunch at Sunshine Seasons
dinner at Wolfgang Puck Cafe

Tuesday, March 29th

lunch most likely at Earl of Sandwich (we'll be in AK this morning, but will likely be done before lunch)
dinner at Mama Melrose (F!package) - another new place for us

Wednesday, March 30th

lunch either in MK or at Pepper Market
dinner at Ohana

Thursday, March 31st

lunch in Blizzard Beach for the 4 of us, not sure where sis and her boyfriend will bee
dinner at Crystal Palace

Friday, April 1st

CRT lunch for myself, DD, sis and her boyfriend; DH and DS will do CS lunch somewhere

Dinner at the Yachtsman (OOP) for the 4 of us, Sis and her boyfriend will be flying home at this time

 

[sandym718]

We'll all be on the DDP. Our plans above (for the 4 of us), involve using all of our TS credits by Friday afternoon (CRT). We'll be paying OOP for Yachtsman. We had planned to do LeCellier again, and pay OOP, knowing it would be 2 TS credits. We're not thrilled with the menu change, so we going to try Yachtsman instead. Similiarly priced, the menu appeals to us more, good to try something new and we can still spend the evening in Epcot.

With our plan, we'll end up with 2 extra CS credits (from when DD and I do CRT for lunch), so we're planning a CS breakfast at Captain Cook's one morning. We'd like to try a Tonga Toast! We'll probably all share one of those and one breakfast platter. We're not big breakfast eaters and all the rest of our mornings we'll just eat light in the room.

Sister and her boyfriend will need to pay for one of their dinners OOP due to CRT. Their CS credits should work out perfect - they'll arrive by lunch on 3/25 and use a CS credit, but are going to a wedding in Daytona that night and won't need TS that first day. They won't need CS credits the last day.

 

[sandym718]

One last post for now.... A few new things we're hoping to try:

First of all, we've budgeted for some alcoholic drinks this time - we want to enjoy ourselves with my sister and her boyfriend and the kids are older now. (not that we'll be getting wasted, LOL!)

DH and Matt plan to drink around the world a bit. I desire the following 3 drinks this trip: Pina Colava, Grand Marnier slushie and a Fiesta Margarita!

DS was told about a drink in the American pavilion that is blue slushie, red slushie and vanilla ice cream, that he's dying to try!

We want the usual snacks - I'll definitely be getting a Doh bar and lots of chocolate chip crossaints, DH will be over-consuming Dole Whips. Plan to get chocolate-dipped marshmallows at Goofy's, even if they're not covered.

I'd like to try School Bread and something from the new Carmel place! Also maybe one of those fabulous cupcakes at DHS!

 

[sandym718]

Ok, one more...

Meals we're thinking of having:

Sunshine Seasons - me - chicken and mashed potatoes, oh so good. Maybe a cheesecake?

Wolfgang Puck Cafe - me - Pumpkin Ravioli of course!! Kids enjoy the spaghetti here

Mama Melrose - not sure, but I'm thinking the Chicken Parmesan for both DH and I; I hope to try the Chocolate Cannoli cake

CRT- I'll probably do the Major Domo's again, not thrilled with the menu change, esp. the Choc. Buckle being gone!

Yachtsman - can't wait to try it. DH is thinking the RibEye or Porterhouse, I'll definitely do the Filet! The chocolate trio for dessert sounds delicous. Wonder if I can sub out the espresso one for a double peanut ?

 

[jenseib]

Sounds good, and now I'm hungry!!
I am so mad the chocolate buckle is gone from CRT. It was probably my most favorite WDW food of all.

 

[lilandvisma]

Excited to read your reviews! We too will be @ Ohana on 3/30 for Dinner What time is your ADR? Also DHS on 3/29 but we did the F! Pkg w/ Brown Derby to try something a little different this time. We had LeCellier originally planned for Lunch and then Dinner on 4/1 but with this new menu change I'm just not sure and have been contemplating Yachtsman instead...or another Signature even.

We also LOVE Crystal Palace And IDC if my oldest is kind of outgrowing Pooh and friends either lol. She seems to enjoy herself once we get in there anyhow!

We sure are getting close now! I'll have to come visit your PTR page as well. Oh and um...TOTALLY envious of the fact that you get to stay @ the Poly! Maybe if I'd ever get a PIN I'll be able to stay there one day too!

 

[sandym718]

Excited to read your reviews! We too will be @ Ohana on 3/30 for Dinner What time is your ADR? Also DHS on 3/29 but we did the F! Pkg w/ Brown Derby to try something a little different this time. We had LeCellier originally planned for Lunch and then Dinner on 4/1 but with this new menu change I'm just not sure and have been contemplating Yachtsman instead...or another Signature even.

We also LOVE Crystal Palace And IDC if my oldest is kind of outgrowing Pooh and friends either lol. She seems to enjoy herself once we get in there anyhow!

We sure are getting close now! I'll have to come visit your PTR page as well. Oh and um...TOTALLY envious of the fact that you get to stay @ the Poly! Maybe if I'd ever get a PIN I'll be able to stay there one day too!

Thanks, Mandy!! Our Ohana ressies are at 5:15 on the 30th! Since we don't need the "travel time", we made that one earlier.

Yes, we decided to try something new rather than LeCellier - that new dinner menu didn't thrill us!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Count me in! I wish I was going to WDW next weekend too! Have a great time and take tons of pictures

 

[sandym718]

Count me in! I wish I was going to WDW next weekend too! Have a great time and take tons of pictures

Welcome!! I'm sure my reviews will be nothing like yours! You're the Queen!!



Just saw in a review today the lava cake at WPC - can't wait for that!! Just can't figure out how to work in my Doh Bar, because after that..... We'll be doing DTD for lunch one day (EoS), though. Those are packaged desserts. So maybe I'll take the Choc-PB brownie back with us for another time (breakfast!) and get the Doh Bar after lunch.

 

[sandym718]

Really looking forward to Disney food. As of today, I've lost 17 pounds since New Year's. I don't think I'm going to reach the 20 I had hoped for, but I'm trying really hard this week, so hopefully it will be 18 or 19. Then the diet goes out the window for 9 days - I know I can lose it when we get back!

 

[lilandvisma]

Thats great, congrats on losing the weight!

We are getting soooo close now I can't wait!!!!

 

[sandym718]

We leave early tomorrow morning!!! We'll be back late on April 2, so look for reviews starting on the 3rd!!

 

[jenseib]

Have fun!!!!

 

[sandym718]

Hi everyone! We're back and WOW, stuffed full!!!! We ate soooo much good food. Too much in fact. Luckily I gained only 2 pounds, so hopefully I'll have those off this week and next week I can resume my weight loss. DH, on the other hand (who lost 33 pounds between New Year's and our trip, I had lost 18), put on 10 pounds!!!!! He's already lost 3 of those though, so he'll probably have all 10 off in a week or so too.

I'm battling a bad cold, unfortunately, so things are taking longer than I like. But I hope to have our first reviews up later tonight.

Fair warning - no food porn. I was really hoping to try this time, but the family just wanted no part of that!

 

[tluvstink]

I hope you are feeling better soon I am looking forward to your reviews.

Terri

 

[sandym718]

OK, I'm back and ready to go!! Still fighting off the cold a bit, but work is slower today and I'm ready to get this started. I changed the name of the thread since it's no longer a PTR.

Friday, 3/25-- TRAVEL DAY- Fast Food

Our travel day, so no Disney food, but I thought I'd talk about ALL our food. First of all, I packed a TON of snacks. I mean, a TON. I bought a lot, and then my Mom went and bought my kids a bunch of stuff, so.....if anyone has a serious goldfish, cheez-it or cookie craving...I could send some your way. We packed a backpack with some of these snacks, plenty of gum, etc. And a cooler with waters and a few pops.

We left home (Cleveland, OH area) at 5:30 AM. Kids each ate a bag of mini-muffins. They HAVE to eat before a car trip, no matter the time of day or night. We learned that lesson a few years ago when we left at 4 AM to go to Myrtle Beach. DS did not eat and a few hours in, he was vomiting...and that lasted a few hours. No fun!! But as long as they have something in their tummies...they're good to go.

We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's. Now I've been craving McD's breakfast for quite some time. I am NOT normally a breakfast eater at all. I can't eat first thing in the morning, I might have a Special K bar late morning or something. But I LOOOOOVE McD's Sausage McMuffins (no egg). In fact, I think it's HORRIBLE that you can't order them anytime of day because I really don't care of McD's food otherwise. I'd gladly get one for lunch or dinner!! But, alas, it's breakfast time only. I never get these at home, the nearest McD's is about 15-20 minutes, and it's just not worth it, we never eat breakfast out. So *MY* road trip "thing" is to get a Sausage McMuffin or two. We normally go to the beach or Disney each year, both long drives, so I always get them. Well, 2010 was a planned beach year - until DD severly broke her arm in June. I mean, bad. She ended up having 3 surgeries, we were inpatient for awhile, a real mess. She was casted ALL summer and no water allowed (it was an open fracture) - so no beach for us. We did a fun trip to Baltimore, D.C. and DH's cousins in VA instead, and BIL went along. Great trip, but shorter travel times, and I never got......you guessed it, a Sausage McMuffin!!!! DH promised me he'd go get me one at home sometime, but that never happened. So by the time of this trip, I was majorly jonesing LOL!!

So, anyways....McD's breakfast, in West Va somewhere (sorry I don't remember!), about 8 AM. I got my beloved Sausage McMuffin with potato cake and orange juice. It was DELICIOUS!! DH got his favorite breakfast buritto meal (yuk!) and also ate the egg from my sandwich. DS refused to eat. This made me VERY nervous. I was worried he was starting to feel carsick and not eating would make it much worse. Turns out, no- he just wasn't hungry. He was fine all morning and then starving for lunch!! DD got the Big Breakfast platter with Hotcakes (I still thought DS would share with her), DH finished it for her.

Back in the car...and further down the road...stopped for lunch at about 1:30 I think, it was in North Carolina, just north of Mooresville and Charlotte. We decided on Wendy's because DS wanted their boneless wings. WELL, no boneless wings!! Oh well! He and DD both got the kids meals with chicken nuggets. DH got a burger and I got a small chili and baked potato. Decent food, no problems here, nothing special either!!

Further south we go....we ended up not stopping for dinner. We were making good time and anticipated being at our hotel stop in Yulee, FL (just across the border) about an hour earlier than expected (7:30 rather than 8:30), and lunch was later, so we just decided to eat when we got there. We checked in (right at 7:30!) at the Country Inn and Suites and then went to dinner. On our room keys there was an ad for Pizza Hut delivery, I wanted to do it, but DH said, let's just go there. OK. Well, I guess the delivery was from a different Pizza Hut, NOT the one right there at the exit. That one turned out to be just an Express, partnered with a KFC. Only pizzas were the Personal Pan ones. So we ended up just getting a family chicken meal. Not terrible, but we've definitely had better KFC!!!

Kids wanted a chocolate chip cookie from the lobby when we went back to the hotel - but they were all gone -sorry kids!!!

So that wraps up Day One!!! I'll be back soon with Day Two - where we start some actual Disney food!!!!!!! Oh, and be sure to check out my trip report, I'll have it linked in my siggie in a few minutes!

 

[bluejasmine]

Looking fwd to more!