The Bell's Abuse of the DxDP with Pictures

[Bell30012]

As promised prior to leaving it is now time to review some of the meals that we feasted upon while heavily abusing the Deluxe Dining Plan at Walt Disney World. Every meal credit and every snack credit were used... nothing wasted. More to come lots of meal credits...

1900 Park Fare​

This meal is served as a buffet. The fare consisted on several entrees from which I chose the roast beef. The roast beef is sliced by a server and I was pleasantly surprised to see him without prompting slice of a healthy sized chunk. I also couldn’t pass up the chicken. For sides I selected mashed potatoes, a Japanese style rice and fresh bread.

The meal was excellent. The roast beef was perfectly cooked. I had to sample a second piece just to make certain that my original piece was not enchanted in some way. The chicken? Perfectly, seasoned and so tender that it almost fell off the bone when I showed it the fork. The potatoes were very good, complete with lumps to prove they were indeed real potatoes. The rice left a little to be desired but all in all, I think the meal was outstanding.

My daughter opted for the chicken, mashed potatoes, two kinds of rice, grapes, tomatoes, cucumbers and corn. What a combination, but it is a buffet. She devoured the chicken with the comment that I needed to get the recipe for the sauce because it was great. She also didn’t think too highly of the Japanese rice but the steamed rice rated a “good” when she was prompted.

Deserts… after all of that we still had room for a solid sampling from the desert plate. I ate a brownie that could be described as heaven made of chocolate, while my DD6 ate cookies and toppings for the ice cream but not the ice cream. There seemed to be an issue with one cream maker and there was a line at the other.

Now that I’ve described the meal as a pretty good by our scale. The character interaction? If you were seated in the center row where the large parties were then you saw lots of character interaction. It seemed every character was drawn to the middle row. The character helper finally directed the whole crew by our aisle of tables and they rushed through it. We got a few photos. Lady Tremaine was the hit of the show. She really played her part well. One of the ladies at a neighboring table told her to smile as she scowled and she replied, “I am smiling, now get this over with, I’ve got to ….”

 

[AnninIowa]

Great start! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Im in!

 

[TigerKat]

Im in!

I'm right behind ya......

 

[disneybound31]

Glad you liked Park Fare... We were there last week and while we loved to food our server was pretty bad. We sat for almost 25 minutes before a drink order was taken. She came back exactly once and then never brought drink refills until we begged then she forgot 3 times. It was the only placed I tipped below 18%..below 15% now that I think back.

Sorry to hijack. Great review, btw.

 

[Bell30012]

Grand Floridian Café​

The Grand Floridian Café was one of the easiest ADR’s for us to get. We had breakfast scheduled for 7:30 AM but due to the ease of Disney’s transportation we arrived early. We took this time to walk around and admire the beauty of the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The place is absolutely beautiful. We stepped up to the check in desk right on time and were seated immediately. The restaurant was almost empty as we were seated and did not fill up by the time that we left.

Our server was Jessica and she did an excellent job. She spent a few minutes admiring my daughter’s Princess Belle dress which really made her happy. She kept daddy’s coffee cup full which really made me happy. My daughter ordered the Mickey Waffles and I, the steak and eggs. I ordered my steak cooked medium-well and the eggs over medium. The cook hit them both right on the money.

The steak was a well seasoned, perfectly cooked piece of real beef and you could taste it. I added but a touch of salt and devoured it. The eggs were cooked exactly as I ordered and disappeared nearly as fast as the steak. I felt the potatoes were the only thing lacking on this breakfast. It could be because I’m southern but a nice side of hash browns would have been better. The potatoes were actually cold while everything else was hot.

My daughter believed that Mickey Waffles are the best thing ever put on a Disney menu. This was her first time eating them and she really went to town on them. She ate every bite which she rarely does. When we left I noticed that the restaurant still had not filled up. We also saw a large party, sixteen I believe, get seated with no ADR. We rode in the front of the silver monorail over to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop where my daughter discovered his camera missing.

We rode back to the Grand Floridian Café where her camera in its stuffed doggie case was returned to her safely. I highly recommend this restaurant for breakfast meals. The restaurant is beautiful, the resort is beautiful and you will have a great view while you eat. This is a place to go to get away from the crowds in the mornings. We will be doing this one again.

Up next will be Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)

 

[habg1]

Thanks for posting pics of The Grand Floridian Cafe's B-fast. I just made ressie for there over Thanksgiving vacation. The pics look good, especially the steak! Yum!

 

[CanadianPaco]

Lovely start!!

 

[Pumbaa_]

great review! can't wait for the rest and congrats on using every last credit

 

[mcrabeck]

Great start! I am in

 

[onelilspark]

GF Cafe is great for adults too Especially with their mimosas!! Soooo tasty! And my Mom loves their eggs benedict.

 

[Echo queen]

Great, keep eating.

 

[skellingtonfreak]

Great so far! I'm SO in!

 

[suzimar57]

great photos of the stepsisters!

 

[Bell30012]

Cinderella's Royal Table (dinner)​

Our second day (first full day) at Disney for the Bell’s 2008 trip found us dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table. While I’d read about this trip on the forums it was one that we had never experienced. This was probably the meal that my DD6 was most excited about. I booked this meal exactly six months prior to the trip. I called at 10:05 AM, already breakfast and lunch were booked solid. We had been told that dinner was not a character meal and it truly isn’t but don’t let this dissuade you from experiencing it.

Let’s start the review with the character interaction. Cinderella couldn’t have been friendlier. The PhotoPass photographer snapped seven photos (remember to stop by any photo location and get these added to your PhotoPass). Cinderella was patient and didn’t seem to rush at all. Midway through the meal music kicked up, the waiters started dancing and the mice came running into the room. They went to every table and posed with every child. While they may not be major characters, they really gave a lot of personal attention to the younger guests. The Fairy Godmother made an appearance, sang a song, danced with the mice and was gone. Overall, for “not” being a character meal it was pretty good character interaction.

Now the meal. I chose the BLT Salad because I really wanted to try that apple wood bacon. It was an excellent salad. My meal selection was the prime rib of beef with grilled asparagus, gratin potatoes and cabernet sauce. The prime rib was excellent with a decent sized portion. One thing that I liked that most will not was that they left the fat on. Oh yes, I know how unhealthy of me. The asparagus didn’t pass the muster. The potatoes, what few there were (three tiny pieces) tasted great. For what this meal cost they could have splurged and threw at least enough to add up to a whole potato on the plate. Before I move on, I have to say the sauce was excellent. I dipped every savory piece of the meat into it and relished the taste as I devoured it.

My daughter opted for the chicken tenders with mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots for her meal. Her appetizer salad was served with her meal rather than first like mine was. On the salad she felt the dressing was “yucky,” something I expected she, like I, is a thousand island salad dressing person. The chicken nuggets were great especially the sauce. She ate every last one. Her salad was “okay” and her green beans & carrots were “too many beans not enough carrots.” The potatoes were good but too lumpy in her opinion. I finished them for her and I think they were spot on.

Now the desert… We both opted for the Royal Crown Sundae. I know this isn’t on the adult menu but I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask. The server delivered to me a perfectly made sundae adult sized. We both devoured the sundaes as they were excellent.

One thing I did notice is that we had many different servers during our meal. The servers seemed to just refill whomever’s glass needed refilling without regard to who was assigned to that table. I think that added to the magic of the night. Every male sever that walked by our table greeted my daughter as “your highness” and really made a production out of her entrance. Was the experience worth two credits on the Deluxe Dining Plan? Maybe once but it isn’t on next year’s plan.

 

[Illuminations_Rocks]

Thanks for the reviews! Can't wait for more!

A suggestion, please please please put line breaks between the photos so it isn't stretched across the page - makes for much easier reading.

 

[SnwflkCts]

I usually don't post in dining reviews cause people are here for the food pics but I do have to say your daughter looked ADORABLE at CRT. I'm glad she got a little attention even though it wasn't the true "character" meal.

 

[SunnieRN]

Your daughter is adorable! Looking forward to more reviews!

 

[Bell30012]

All Star Movies Snack Breakfast​

Here is where the Cape May breakfast was supposed to be inserted. However, after the long day Sunday including; Breakfast at the Grand Floridian, an active day at the MK, Bibbity Bobbity Boutique, dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table AND the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party someone wasn't getting up.

So instead we used a snack credit at the ASMo and my daughter had cereal and milk, which only counts as one snack credit, by the way. The cereal tasted like cereal and well the milk? "It is milk, Daddy!" - said with a six year old Hannah Montana attitude.

 

[TPCShauna]

Your daughter is darling. Great reviews!