Summer 2017...Disney, Universal, Carnival Liberty, and Disney!!!

[tyandskyesmom]

The background:

Me...46...Mom...planner...
Cary...43...Significant Other...along for the ride...
Tyler...18...Son...new Graduate
Skyler...13...Daughter...dancer

5 nights at Disney with Deluxe Dining.
3 nights at Universal (Skye is dancing there!) out of pocket.
3 night Carnical Cruise on the Liberty (Skye is dancing there too!) all included.
3 nights at Disney (Skye has an almost private class with a Disney Dancer back stage at Epcot!) out of pocket.

We were there June 21, 2017 thru July 5, 2017.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Hudson News at Midway Airport

I made the mistake of letting Cary and the kids go in search of drinks and snacky/breakfasy food. The ended up at Hudson News (granted there is not a lot open this 4:26am) and came back with this...

Ginger ale for me and Skye, Coke for Tyler, bottles Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee for Cary, a bad of mini Airheads, Cheddar Crackers, and Yogurt Nut Mix. Skye ate most of the crackers and she and Tyler dug into the Airheads. The mix didn't get opened until later in the trip and when it was opened, no one liked it.

This set us back $27.05!!!!! Ya, won't make that mistake again!

DDDP Credits used = 0
DDDP value = $0.00
Out of Pocket = $27.05
TOTAL Cash Out = $27.05

 

[WDWNan]

Sounds like an awesome adventure! Can't wait to hear more. (and unfortunately I've had a Hudson news meal--)

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen

So we headed towards Adventureland.

And we headed to Skipper Canteen to see if we could be seated early. "Sure, no problem!".

We sat in the chairs waiting for a few minutes and we called in at 11:30pm.

We walked through the huge main dining room...

...and a bookcase to the Butterfly Room and were seated at one of the middle tables in there. Next to this table...

This place was really cool! Tons of stuff to look at! May was our server and she was funny. Not over the top stupid funny but just enough good funny. She took this picture of us...

Then turned around real quick and called his name and snapped this one...

She said he gets jealous if no one takes his picture! She explained the menu and gave her recommendations.

I just ordered a Sprite to drink byt Tyler ordered the Punch Line Punch ... Tropical Fruit Juices and Mango Puree (on the left) and Cary and Skyler ordered the Schweitzer Slush ... Frozen apple juice and passion fruit with bursting green apple boba balls (on the right)...

And thus began the love of Boba balls! Everyone thought the balls were very cool! Like popping an eatable balloon filled with juice in your mouth. Skye liked Tyler's better and he liked hers better.

May brought the bread services and we placed our orders. We all enjoyed the bread. I was to only one who would use the honey dip, everyone else just buttered it.

For appetizers I ordered the S.E.A. Shu Mai ... blend of pork, shrimp, edamame beans and spices wrapped in gyoza skin then steamed

This was really good! It was like a full pot sticker that was steamed. There is a ton of meat mixture in each one. The dipping sauce was really good too!

There was not a whole lot Tyler or Skyler saw that they wanted so they ordered appeTRYers. Skyler got the Shiriki Noodle Salad ... noodles, edamame beans, mushrooms, green mango and cucumber tossed with a sweet chili sauce. Famously served at Hotel Hightower on December 31, 1899...

Ya, no. She did try the noodles and some of the other stuff but no. It is served cold. The sauce is kinda spicy. I ate some of it and it was ok. I would not order it again but it was ok. Cary tried it and did not like it at all. Tyler was not even gonna try it.

Tyler ordered the Falls Family Falafel ... A secret recipe of chickpeas, garlic, onions, lemon juice and herbs with white bean dip and tomato-cucumber salad.

I knew he wasn't going to try these either but I wanted to and I figured Skye and Cary would try them. I have tried to like falafel other places and just never seem to appreciate the texture or something. These though, were really good. I would actually order them again. They were light and not too heavily spiced. And the white bean dip and tomato-cucumber salad was really good with them. Cary tried them but no. And I was wrong, Skye wouldn't try them.

Cary got the Orinoco Ida's Cachapas ... house made corn pancakes, mojo-braised pork, black bean salad, and avocado cream...

He loved it! I have to say, his was probably the winner here. Even though I really liked mine, they were kinda common...this was not! The kids wouldn't try it because it just liked like a pile of stuff but that was ok because he had no problem cleaning his plate. I know people say the item this replaced was better but if it were, I am sorry we missed it!

For entrees, I had the Char Siu Pork...Marinated grilled pork served with Chinese broccoli and jasmine rice.

Now all the pictures I had seen made this look like the BBQ pork dish you'd get from the corner Chinese place...not so much! This was sort of thick cuts of pork in a tasty sauce. Iwas very pleasantly surprised! It was super tender and the sauce was perfect for the pork and the rice. Cary liked it too but the kids wouldn't try it.

Skyler got the "A Lot At Steak" Salad ... Grilled Steak, Romaine lettuce, red peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, coriander-mint vinaigrette and garlic chips but she had it with the dressing on the side.

She pulled the steak off and put it on a separate plate that May brought her. She tasted the dressing and was not fond of it so May hunted her down some ranch dressing. Skyler loved this salad and the steak. She ate all the steak and most of the salad. I did taste the steak and it was very good cooked as a medium rare and I liked the steak with the original dressing.

Cary got the Dr Falls Signature Grilled Steak ... churrasco-marinated New York strip steak, mashed potatoes, toasted Brazil nut-pesto topped with farofa. With the sauce on the side and he ordered it medium he's usually a medium well guy).

He loved it and ate it all. He did like the sauce to dip his steak in but he was glad he got it on the side so he could control how much. I had a piece of his steak and Skye and I agree, hers from the salad was better! But it was still a good steak.

Tyler got the same thing as Cary but he doesn't do mashed potatoes. So he asked if they had fries. Which apparently they don't but she assured him she could rustle some up.

He loved it too and did not even attempt the sauce.

For dessert there are only four on the menu so we ordered one of each.

Kungaloosh ... An African-inspired Chocolate Cake with caramelized bananas served with cashew-caramel ice cream topped with coffee dust

Coconut bar with Pineapple-Basil Compote and Vanilla Cream ... Vanilla chiffon cake with coconut and lime-white chocolate ganache

Bertha's Banh Bong Lan Cake with Mango-Lime Sorbet ... Vanilla chiffon cake soaked with lemon grass-ginger syrup

Quick Sand! ... Jasmine Rice Pudding, Mango Sauce, Lemon Curd, Hibiscus Meringue, and Pineapple

I liked the Quick Sand the best...really good rice pudding. The kids don't like rice pudding so I did not have to share with them and Cary was enjoying the Coconut Bar so he was good.

The kids liked the Kungaloosh the best. But the Banh Bong Lan Cake was good too. All the desserts were good and we had no complaints. And look how pretty the rise pudding is! And the little dollop looking things were flavored meringues. Thos eseemed to be a big thing this time around. All over the place desserts had them.

The place started getting a little more busy as we were dining. The waiter in the picture above that May took was very crazy and all over the place. I forget his name but I was glad he wasn't ours. He was great to watch with other people but I don't want that kind of pressure! May was the perfect amount of silly for us. At one point they were bringing in 6 high chairs for a table because somewhere in the conversation of needed one high chair they were being silly and interpreted it as six. Then at one point when cleaning a table, the picture guy dropped a giant tray of dishes and it shattered all over the place. Well, they made it all part of the act and he started yelling at may to come over there and clean up her mess...and it went on from there.

We really enjoyed our first Disney meal here. I think we have decided it is NOT a dining plan kind of a place for us though. That's because while we loved a lot of what we had, the kids didn't need appetizers here. There really was not anything they like for that. And Cary and I might even order our appetizers as a meal (they certainly could have been big enough) or maybe we'd even share an entrée. So in the future, I don't think we will dine her if we are on a plan but just because I think this is one of the places we could do with less food. We were all very glad we did it on the plan the first time though because we did get to try a lot of the
menu offerings and we didn't have to worry about paying for things we didn't like or finish. But I do think we will be back.

This venue is beautiful and there is so much to look at. I am glad we got to eat in the room we did because it seemed much more personal and cozy. The big dining hall is very large and noisy. In our room it was quiet, except for the crazy waiter and giggling going on!

The ONLY thing we did not like was that when May brought out the bill, she told us that their new policy was that the guest had to put the tip amount on the line even if paying cash. That leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I believe it is for tax purposes but really? That is not my problem. I mean, I don't think a wait staff should even mention their tip. It's rude. It is boarderline rude to put the suggested tips at the bottom of the receipt...but that gets a bye because I do use it because it makes it easier for me to know what 18% is and then to be able to gage better or worse from there. But I was very put off at "having" to inform her of what kind of tip she was getting before she was done waiting on me. She did seem embarrassed by "having" to tell me that so that let her off the hook a bit but I still didn't like it.

We were out of there by 12:45pm.

Our total here was $217.79 or 4 DDDP credits.

DDDP Credits used so far = 4
DDDP value so far = $217.79
Out of Pocket TOTAL so far= $27.05
TOTAL Cash Value so far = $244.84

 

[tyandskyesmom]

World Premiere Food Court

We arrived back at Movies at 3:00pm. We headed to the food court and grabbed our mugs. Ty and Skye got pink (I think he just wanted to annoy Skye), I got Purple and Cary got red. We filled up and downed a cup just standing there!!

Total was $77.36.

DDDP Credits used so far = 4 + 4 mug credits
DDDP value so far = $295.15
Out of Pocket TOTAL so far= $27.05
TOTAL Cash Value so far = $322.20

 

[dnllmz]

Following along! I love your reports.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

California Grill

The three of us arrived at The Contemporary at 6:59pm. Tyler had gone in the wrong door so it was 7:06pm by the time we got to the check in desk but all was well since both the CMs were doing something with two other parties that took a while. We were brought right upstairs and seated right away...at one of the most perfect tables there is!

Our waiter was Javier B. He was an older gentleman with a thick accent and a quiet voice. From what we gathered, he's been around a while. He poured us some water and explained the menu and what was what on the dining plan and left us to it. We all got soft drinks and Javier brought the bread.

Surprisingly enough the kids loved the lavender focaccia and ate it all.

Shortly after bread was brought it started raining again.

For appetizers I ordered the BLT Flatbread ... heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, cherrywood bacon jam, tomato mayonnaise, arugula

This was really good! Cary and I were sharing. The kids wanted no part of this. I don't know if I would say it tasted like a BLT but it did have all the components and I loved it!

Cary ordered the Lobster Roll ... Maine lobster, avoacado, crispy noodles, fireball and yuzu truffle sauce

This was really good and fresh tasting! The kids also won't touch Sushi so Cary and I were all good!

Tyler ordered a Cheese Flatbread ... just cheese...it's not on the menu but they make it for him every time with no problems...and charge $16.00 for it.

He and Skyler shared this. Out of pocket, not gonna pay $16.00 for a cheese pizza but on the dining plan, go for it! They always love it.

For entrees Cary ordered the Oak-Fired Filet of Beef ... Gruyere, black truffle, and caramelized red onion risotto, roasted baby carrots, herb salsa verde ... medium well.

And it was perfect! He ate it all...and would have licked the plate if I had let him!

Tyler had the same as Cary but medium rare. He even eats this steak with the sauce on it...that's how good it is!

I had the Alaskan Halibut ... carrot-ginger puree, roasted carrot, marble potato, olive oil powder, verjus, cilantro.

And wow! It was awesome...Skyler stole about half of it! THe top half of course because she did not want any carrot-ginger puree. Bit it was all perfectly done!

Skyler had the kid's Homemade Macaroni and Cheese - Served with choice of small lowfat milk, small bottled water, or small apple juice, Choice of Dessert fruit salad, ice cream sundae, or yogurt parfait ... however, she only got the mac & cheese for that price??? I just noticed that.

And we had a bit of a tussle here. See she ordered this as this is her favorite mac & cheese in the World. But when she did Javier asked if he could get her an adult portion and just charge the add on. She, of course, is all for more the better, I however was not needing to pay for an adult portion, however much that would be, when I knew she didn't need it. He did not seem to like that but she did get served a kid's sized mac & cheese and that's what I was charged for. And she loved it, as usual. And guess what? Mommy is always right because we took about half that mac & cheese back with us (she ate it cold in the next few days).

For dessert Tyler ordered the Blueberry Cheesecake ... passion fruit, graham cracker-almond crumb

The kids both liked this one...and it was gone quickly.

Cary got the Butterscotch Crème Brulee ... peanut butter-butter scotch blondes, caramelized turbiando sugar

And the kids took his blondies...he loved the crème brulee though. It has a pretty thick caramelized sugar layer so it was really good!

I ordered the Warm Housemade Fritters ... apple-stuffed, Cinnamon-dusted Fritters complemented with a Trio of Dipping Sauces

These are always good. I like the white dipping sauce, Skye liked the raspberry, and Cary liked the chocolate...Ty isn't a huge fan.

When we were just about done with dessert it was time for the new show at Magic Kingdom. We went out to the deck.

We went back in and sat to settle our bill and finish up. The large circle table next to us had a family at it and Grandpa was a bit toasted and loud...the little kids were well behaved but maybe someone should have kept a watch on Grandpa...

Javier also told us about the tip needing to be filled in before he could run our bill. Again, it felt odd.

California Grill is always a great meal for us. We all love it here so I think it would be on the list even if the dining plan out-grows us someday. Service is usually great. I have to say Javier was a bit formal, maybe a little short but not in a rude way, just maybe a way that he knew we were not going to be his biggest grossing table.

Our total here was $272.08 on the Dining plan and $9.59 out of pocket. We used 6 credits.

DDDP Credits used so far = 10 + 4 mug credits
DDDP value so far = $567.23
Out of Pocket TOTAL so far= $36.64
TOTAL Cash Value so far = $630.92

 

[mimi'sgirl]

Love your reviews! So looking forward to reading the rest and your trip report. Thank you! I appreciate when you wrote about the adult portion vs kids of mac n cheese at Cali Grill as that is what my daughter will probably order. She is 12 so I imagine they will suggest the same.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Love your reviews! So looking forward to reading the rest and your trip report. Thank you! I appreciate when you wrote about the adult portion vs kids of mac n cheese at Cali Grill as that is what my daughter will probably order. She is 12 so I imagine they will suggest the same.

The kid's bowl is not small by any means especially if, like us, there are other appetizers and desserts and Mom's Halibut to share in. And it's not like we had a microwave in our room for easy heat up later. So you don't really need to pay for leftovers. Luckily, she loved cold noodles so she was fine eating it that way later in the week. She has said since our first trip to California Grill when she was probably 4 that they have THE BEST mac & cheese!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

That is really strange about them requiring you to write the cash tip amount on the receipt. I have never seen that anywhere before. I would definitely make a note on that line that it's a CASH tip and keep an eye on the charges if a restaurant required it to be written down.

Did this continue to happen at all of the restaurants you went to?

 

[nicoleakr]

Can't wait for your reviews! Loving them so far!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

That is really strange about them requiring you to write the cash tip amount on the receipt. I have never seen that anywhere before. I would definitely make a note on that line that it's a CASH tip and keep an eye on the charges if a restaurant required it to be written down.

Did this continue to happen at all of the restaurants you went to?

That's what we do. In fact, at first I thought I didn't hear her correctly so I did as we always do and wrote "CASH" on the tip line. When she picked it up, she looked at it right away (in front of me!) and put it back down and said I had to put a dollar amount in that line even if I was paying cash.

It did happen in most restaurants we went to this trip...not all of them though. So either it is just a suggestion that the wait staff do that but not mandatory but possibly a tad bit beneficial to them if they do OR it is not across the board at all venues (which would seem odd) OR some wait staff just choose not to do it.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Oh yes, yes YES! Haven't even started reading this yet, all I saw was your thread title! Going to dive in now, THANK YOU SHERRY!!!! Arrghhh, so excited

 

[olliesmom]

Love reading your reports, so glad to see a new one!

I've read such mixed reviews of Skippers Canteen- I think we will have to eventually try it someday, but will probably stick to appetizers.

Mmmm the California Grill filet is one of my favourite dishes in Disney. Looks like a lovely dinner, but so strange about the new tipping policy. That would make me uncomfortable too, I have never had a server discuss the tip with me before (at WDW or anywhere else).

 

[AliceNDinah]

Yes, I'm wondering that too, regarding the tipping policy! I have reservations at 50's Prime Time, Sci-Fi Dine In Theater, Raglan Road, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, Kona Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern and Crystal Palace. Do you think this will happen at these places? I really hate that kind of thing
I just like to be left alone concerning anything tip-wise!

 

[Texans_loyal]

I'm here! I love your trip reports!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Love reading your reports, so glad to see a new one!

I've read such mixed reviews of Skippers Canteen- I think we will have to eventually try it someday, but will probably stick to appetizers.

Mmmm the California Grill filet is one of my favourite dishes in Disney. Looks like a lovely dinner, but so strange about the new tipping policy. That would make me uncomfortable too, I have never had a server discuss the tip with me before (at WDW or anywhere else).

We really did like Skipper Canteen, all of us, but it is something we would order very differently that a deluxe dining plan would have us order...I was prepared that the kids would find less that they actually liked but there was enough things for them to have. Plus they were very good about substituting and changing things.

Yes, I'm wondering that too, regarding the tipping policy! I have reservations at 50's Prime Time, Sci-Fi Dine In Theater, Raglan Road, 1900 Park Fare, Chef Mickey's, Kona Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern and Crystal Palace. Do you think this will happen at these places? I really hate that kind of thing
I just like to be left alone concerning anything tip-wise!

It was uncomfortable. Plus, to me, until I leave the venue, you're not done waiting on me. A lot of the time I feel we get serviced decently enough but we are usually not drinkers (and if we do order adult beverages it is one or two not drink after drink) and we are usually on the dining plan so I feel like a lot of places we get decent service but not super service so I like to reserve my tip tip I leave. To me a tip is earned not automatic.

Skipper Canteen was the first place we ate and May was very forward about it but it seemed that was the place it was the most pronounced.

And I have not really been online reading other peoples reports much but I have not heard anyone else commenting on it. Maybe I'm the only one it bothered ???

 

[AliceNDinah]

Yes, I really agree with you Sherry. We are not big drinkers either...ugh, I wonder if this is truly a new "policy"? I'd like to hear others thoughts on this as well, this is the first I've heard of it. Very odd!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

That's what we do. In fact, at first I thought I didn't hear her correctly so I did as we always do and wrote "CASH" on the tip line. When she picked it up, she looked at it right away (in front of me!) and put it back down and said I had to put a dollar amount in that line even if I was paying cash.

It did happen in most restaurants we went to this trip...not all of them though. So either it is just a suggestion that the wait staff do that but not mandatory but possibly a tad bit beneficial to them if they do OR it is not across the board at all venues (which would seem odd) OR some wait staff just choose not to do it.

The only two reasons I can think of as to why this would be done is that 1) Management is encouraging it either to ensure that servers are claiming all of their tips for taxes or because it's a restaurant where servers tip out to other staff and the other staff doesn't feel that the server is tipping out from their cash tips appropriately or

2) Certain servers have taken it upon themselves to encourage guests to do this to protect themselves because other wait staff don't feel they are being tipped out appropriately from cash tips and the server wants to prove they are. It could also be that certain servers suspect that cash tips are being stolen and if the amount is written down on the bill, maybe management will look into it. Or it's another attempt by the server to ensure they do get a tip because if it's written down, people who otherwise wouldn't have tipped might be too embarrassed to not leave one.

The only other thing I can think of is that they are hoping people will forget to write "CASH" next to the amount on the tip line and they can charge the tip as well as keep the cash tip. I really hope it's not that last one.

No matter the reason, it seems really strange and I don't like it. Hopefully we receive some more feedback from other guests on this issue. I might have to ask a manager about this if we encounter it at the end of the month as it has me really curious as to why it's happening.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

The only two reasons I can think of as to why this would be done is that 1) Management is encouraging it either to ensure that servers are claiming all of their tips for taxes or because it's a restaurant where servers tip out to other staff and the other staff doesn't feel that the server is tipping out from their cash tips appropriately or

2) Certain servers have taken it upon themselves to encourage guests to do this to protect themselves because other wait staff don't feel they are being tipped out appropriately from cash tips and the server wants to prove they are. It could also be that certain servers suspect that cash tips are being stolen and if the amount is written down on the bill, maybe management will look into it. Or it's another attempt by the server to ensure they do get a tip because if it's written down, people who otherwise wouldn't have tipped might be too embarrassed to not leave one.

The only other thing I can think of is that they are hoping people will forget to write "CASH" next to the amount on the tip line and they can charge the tip as well as keep the cash tip. I really hope it's not that last one.

No matter the reason, it seems really strange and I don't like it. Hopefully we receive some more feedback from other guests on this issue. I might have to ask a manager about this if we encounter it at the end of the month as it has me really curious as to why it's happening.

I actually hope it was one of Disney's famous trials runs and I hope it failed. But thinking about it now, I wonder what would have been done if I had just flat out refused to do it...or just wrote zero in the line and left cash as we were leaving??? I guess realistically, I had that option, just hadn't dawned on me at the time.