Two Germans Dine Deluxe Again ... (FINISHED!)

[Linda67]

It's good to read such a positive review of LC
We are trying it for the first time on Sunday (boy it's good to type that )

 

[marcus.ka]

Oh schön, ein neuer Reisebericht.

Just the other day a board member of a German Disney board asked if it is worth to book the deluxe dining. And I told him no. I wrote that I have never done Deluxe Dining but that I know a very good Trip Report from a very lovely German couple who would never do it again.

And while searching your first TR with the deluxe dining I was surprised (and shocked of course) that you have done it again.

I already have a few comments to the first 7 pages:

- I also love, love, love the Mashed Potatoes at WDW and I know the secret why. It is very simple. They are adding a lot of butter!
- I love, love, love your pictures. And although this is a Dining report I would like to see some pictures of the empty Main Street and of your hotel. I just love empty parts of every Disney park and your hotel is one of my favorites (besides the Grand Floridian of course). So you would make me very happy if you could show some pictures as it is very unlikely that we will stay at your resort.

And as I am just in the right mood of asking for favors, I have to tell you that I love (why am I using the word LOVE so often today? ) with your window picture of Susi & Strolch (Lady and the Tramp) And so I would like to ask you if you could share a link with a higher resolution of this picture because I like would use it as desktop background.

I can’t wait for the next installments of your Trip Report.

“Don’t you dare call me Susi, you tramp!”

 

[annichan]

I wanted you to know, that I TOTALLY remember your Dining Report! It is the only Dining Report I have read all the way through. You write so well, that it was really more like reading a book than a dining review. When I saw the title 2 Germans-I thought to myself, "It's her! She's back!".

I will add your dining report to my list of things to read-thanks so much for taking the plunge again and "suffering through" all that food to report to us.

Danka!

Thank you, I'm so happy to read things like that - really makes it more than worth to write these reviews!
(And I remember you too, by the way - you were the last person to comment in my first dining report, and I couldn't answer you anymore as the thread had been closed in the meantime .)

just as an fyi....the williamette valley is in oregon, not canada. oregon is known for their pinot noirs. just wanted to mention this in case you happened to be on the lookout for it in your supermarket. it would be with the oregon wines.

Thank you for letting me know, another wine expert already mentioned it as well - will do better research next time, I promise!
I must say that our local supermarkets do not have specific sections for "Oregon wines", though - but at least most of them have sections for "American wines"!

It's good to read such a positive review of LC
We are trying it for the first time on Sunday (boy it's good to type that )

Oh wow, you are so close to being on your way to WDW!! Have fun - and please say hi to my beloved Wilderness Lodge for me (and tell it we will stay there when we return )!

Oh schön, ein neuer Reisebericht.

Just the other day a board member of a German Disney board asked if it is worth to book the deluxe dining. And I told him no. I wrote that I have never done Deluxe Dining but that I know a very good Trip Report from a very lovely German couple who would never do it again.

And while searching your first TR with the deluxe dining I was surprised (and shocked of course) that you have done it again.

I already have a few comments to the first 7 pages:

- I also love, love, love the Mashed Potatoes at WDW and I know the secret why. It is very simple. They are adding a lot of butter!
- I love, love, love your pictures. And although this is a Dining report I would like to see some pictures of the empty Main Street and of your hotel. I just love empty parts of every Disney park and your hotel is one of my favorites (besides the Grand Floridian of course). So you would make me very happy if you could show some pictures as it is very unlikely that we will stay at your resort.

And as I am just in the right mood of asking for favors, I have to tell you that I love (why am I using the word LOVE so often today? ) with your window picture of Susi & Strolch (Lady and the Tramp) And so I would like to ask you if you could share a link with a higher resolution of this picture because I like would use it as desktop background.

I can’t wait for the next installments of your Trip Report.

Wie schön, wieder was von dir zu lesen - nice to have you along again!

I'm so sorry I totally ruined your good example against the Deluxe Dining Plan .
And the mashed potatoes are made with lots of butter? I should have known - that's what wins me over every time!

Anyway, as there are so few fellow Germans here on the DIS, I would never dare to allienate one of them by ignoring his requests .
So, here come a few pictures of an empty Main Street very early in the morning :

(I will post some hotel pictures for you as well a little later, but I have to upload them first - and I'm going to get the Mama Melrose update done first, too!)

Oh yeah, and here is the link to a high-res version of the Susi and Strolch window picture for you:

Window picture in high resolution

 

[annichan]

"Where to eat at Hollywood Studios?"

When planning this trip, I had given this question quite a bit of thought. I knew we would want two lunches here, no more, and we were quickly decided on making the Brown Derby one of these two.
For the other one, both DH and I would have liked the Sci-Fi Dine-In as we really enjoyed it there last time – but then we made up our minds to try something new for a change (we’ll be back at Sci-Fi one day for sure though).

Hollywood & Vine was out as we did not really fancy another buffet in our line-up and also already had plenty of character meals planned, and '50s Prime-Time was out because we were not overly thrilled with their menu, and because DH did not really want to get involved into their "Mum and the siblings" spiel which I think is probably the main point about eating there.


And that is how we ended up with an ADR here:

We did not have to spend a lot of time in the waiting area, only long enough to realize that we hardly knew any of the celebrities on all these pictures:

We were then brought to our table, and this was the view we had sitting down (and, well, obviously swaying from side to side because it wouldn't have been so blurred otherwise):

I was a bit torn about the decor. I really liked the "starry night in the Hollywood Hills" (if that’s where it is supposed to be?) kind of atmosphere a lot, with the wood beams, the wine leaves and the fairy-lights.
What I didn’t like so much was the fact that there was a huge long window looking into the kitchen, as that gave the place about the same authentic Hollywood Hills-nighttime-laid-back feel that you get in a college cafeteria at lunchtime.

But anyway, we were quickly presented with our bread basket:

Plain white rolls with salted olive oil. Not particularly exciting, but not bad either.


DH then chose this as his appetizer – and yes, I cannot believe that this counted as a one-person appetizer on the Deluxe Dining Plan either:

Crispy Calamari for Two - topped with peppers and onions, served with a side of spicy marinara sauce.


Meanwhile, I was having this:

Mozzarella and Tomatoes - with marinated sweet onions, balsamic drizzle, extra virgin olive oil and fresh sweet basil.

Yep, I ordered plain old mozzarella and tomatoes again, as I really was not that hungry – all that Deluxe Dining was seriously beginning to take its toll -, so I wanted something light to preserve at least a bit of an appetite for entrées. It’s sad, I know.

Anyway, while there was nothing at all wrong with it, this tasted about as exciting as the picture looks - which is to say, not very much at all. And, almost inevitably, the same old problem with the pretty taste-free tomatoes which I had already encountered in several other places.


After watching the hectic goings-on in the kitchen for a while longer, we were brought our entrées. This was DH's:

Chicken Pipette Wood-grilled Chicken - over Pipette Pasta tossed with Artichokes, Peas, Roasted Peppers, and Sweet Onions in a Basil Four-Cheese Cream Sauce.
He said it tasted quite good, while I couldn’t bring myself to try it as I detest peas …

Me, I was wanting to try the Penne alla Vodka but didn't dare – 1.00 pm is just not the right time of day for anything with Vodka in it. (I almost suspect that there is hardly any vodka in this at all anyway, though – can anybody verify that, by any chance?)

So I settled for the next best thing to alcohol () …

... Tuna!

Or, more accurately, Wood-grilled Tuna over a seasonal Vegetable Risotto, warm Vine-ripened Diced Red and Yellow Tomatoes, and Olive-Caper Butter. Quite yummy!


All the while, we were really amused at our server's constant care and attention in terms of DH's beverage. You know, in Germany you don't ever really get free refills with your drinks. If you finish your glass of Coke and want another one, you order another one.
I am not sure whether this is a Disney specialty or the same everywhere in the States (I am sure you can tell me?), but we are just absolutely not used to having someone in a restaurant refill our drinks.

So, this server brought out a new glass of diet coke when DH had only half-finished his first. That was fine with him as he was really thirsty, so he quickly drained the first diet coke and moved the second one closer towards him. A few minutes later, he took a couple more sips out of that second one – and as soon as he had done so, the waitress placed a third one in front of him.

This was when he started to panic as he suspected she was trying to drown him from the inside . He didn't dare take any more sips for fear of a fourth glass materializing on the table.

(No, seriously, we are not making fun of the waitress. Not really. It was great how attentive she was, and she did everything to make a nice meal experience for us. It was just that compared to what we are used to at home, this was really a bit much .)


After ingesting those few gallons of liquid, it was probably not surprising that DH only chose a really small dessert:

A cute tiny little barely half-full cappuccino. Top marks for calorie consciousness (and don’t start about that tiny little bit of cream on top )

My totally-not-calorie-conscious dessert:

A huge gigantic Frozen Cappuccino. Top marks for gluttony only, here.


All in all, while this was a nice meal, nothing here was truly memorable, except maybe for the wood-grilled tuna. We don’t regret coming here, but we probably won't come again – if we feel like having Italian food next time, we are much more likely to try someplace we haven’t been yet, like Bella Napoli or Tutto Italia.


Coming up next: Dinner at Narcoossee's!

 

[mlaw]

Thanks for the great review! I am loving everything about it. So here is some help in return. If the is actually vodka in vodka sauce, the alcohol is cooked out. It is like half red and half white sauce. Kids eat it all the time and there is no vodka flavor. The constant refills on soda is true at most US sit down restaurants. Our joke when we tell about our family trip to Europe is that we would go to Hard Rock Cafe for the ice and free refills. Definitely an American thing and you do have to pay attention to how much soda you are drinking. Can't wait for the rest of your review. Thanks!

 

[cbg1027]

Joining in....I'm enjoying your reviews. I like getting the perspective of non-Americans about Disney!

The drink refill thing is 99.99% universal in the US. America.....land of Big Macs and never-ending soda refills. And people wonder why we're the fattest country!

 

[Flossbolna]

More great reviews!

I think your experience with pretzel bread being dry in German bakeries must be due to the fact that you live in the North! No self-respecting Bavarian (or Frankonian to be precise, don't want marcus.ka to tell me off) bakery would ever sell dry pretzels to anyone! The reason why the pretzel bread is at Le Cellier is due to its connection with the town of Kitchener which has a large German immigrant population.

And the pinot noir is very common in Germany, but just is sold under its German name: Spätburgunder (or Blauburgunder when from Austria), or Weißherbst if it is not allowed to sit on the peels. I think it is also one of the dominant grapes in French wines, which very often are blends. It is even one of the main grapes in champagne. I like it a lot as well.

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[annichan]

Thanks for the great review! I am loving everything about it. So here is some help in return. If the is actually vodka in vodka sauce, the alcohol is cooked out. It is like half red and half white sauce. Kids eat it all the time and there is no vodka flavor. The constant refills on soda is true at most US sit down restaurants. Our joke when we tell about our family trip to Europe is that we would go to Hard Rock Cafe for the ice and free refills. Definitely an American thing and you do have to pay attention to how much soda you are drinking. Can't wait for the rest of your review. Thanks!

Thanks for telling me about vodka sauce! Also, you are right about ice cubes in drinks not being near as common here as in the U.S., we hardly ever get them (but never miss them, because we just aren't used to drinking them with everything). It seemed really funny to us at first that not only did every hotel have its own ice machine, but often even every floor ... This "addiction to ice cubes" is really typically American to me . Is it really the same in the colder states as well, or is it related to outside temperature?

Joining in....I'm enjoying your reviews. I like getting the perspective of non-Americans about Disney!

The drink refill thing is 99.99% universal in the US. America.....land of Big Macs and never-ending soda refills. And people wonder why we're the fattest country!

Well, I do think that there are lots of overweight Germans as well ... But you're right, with those never-ending refills it definitely gets harder to watch what you are drinking.

More great reviews!

I think your experience with pretzel bread being dry in German bakeries must be due to the fact that you live in the North! No self-respecting Bavarian (or Frankonian to be precise, don't want marcus.ka to tell me off) bakery would ever sell dry pretzels to anyone! The reason why the pretzel bread is at Le Cellier is due to its connection with the town of Kitchener which has a large German immigrant population.

And the pinot noir is very common in Germany, but just is sold under its German name: Spätburgunder (or Blauburgunder when from Austria), or Weißherbst if it is not allowed to sit on the peels. I think it is also one of the dominant grapes in French wines, which very often are blends. It is even one of the main grapes in champagne. I like it a lot as well.

You're right, when I read your reply I remembered our server at Le Cellier also telling us about Kitchener and the German population. I really should take notes during meals instead of only taking pictures ...

And thank you for telling me about Pinot Noir being the same as Spätburgunder or Weissherbst, I never would have thought! Now I know why I can never find it in Germany ... Like I said, I'm far from being a real connoisseur.

joining in

Welcome!

 

[annichan]

This evening, it was time to return to a signature restaurant where we have enjoyed some good food last time:

And once again, we had timed our dinner to coincide with the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom (which was to be HalloWishes that night) so we could watch either from the restaurant or from the pier.

When checking in at the podium, I asked for a window table and was told that this would mean an additional wait of approximately half an hour, so I asked DH if it was okay for him to wait, and sweet man that he is, he was alright with it (even though he was hungry and probably did not care on bit whether we got a window table).

In the end, it only turned out to be about ten minutes' wait, so it wasn't bad at all.

Me, happy about our wonderful window table (and visual proof of how quickly some people can finish a light beer before even the bread basket has arrived ).


This was the appetizer we both ordered:

The great Unknown Salad.
No salad on the menu really looks like this, and I did not keep our receipt. So I cannot really say what this was, apart from the obvious:

- A green salad with cucumber, tomatoes and avocado, and
- A sure sign that I was still not really hungry (see lunch review if confused by reference) and trying to save the tiniest bit of appetite for entrées.

No, wait, now I have managed to look up the correct menu on the internet (what did we actually do before the internet? Do others among you ask themselves this question as often as I do?).

Lo and behold: This was a Green Goddess Salad - Romain, cucumber, hearts of palm, tarragon, tomatoes and avocado. So, there. I could just delete the paragraphs before this one, but you may just as well be witnesses of my confusion.


Moving on to DH's entrée:

It seems like our memory is going downhill from the Green Goddess salad: We don’t remember what this was. Neither me, who was supposed to document it, nor DH, who ate it.
The receipt merely says "Crab Entrée" (and I am so glad that's a b in there ), so I am hazarding a guess by saying this may have been the Crab-crusted Mahi Mahi with Crushed Fingerling Potatoes, Haricots Verts, and Meyer Lemon Sauce. Anybody else know or care to guess?


While DH was busy eating his entrée quickly before it faded from memory, I had this:

The Grilled Filet Mignon with Potato Gratin and Broccoli.
A really, really delicious steak which in fact I would not at all mind having again right now. (And, art imitating nature, probably one of the most mouth-watering entrée pictures I took on this trip - to me, anyway).


For dessert, I had this:

The Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Dome with fresh berries.
A very nice dessert, especially if you love the combination of fruity and chocolatey tastes like I do (not to mention the amazing architectural and logistic skills needed to arrange all this on a plate like that ).

DH's dessert (Crème Brulée again? What a blatant case of dessert favouritism!):

Crème Brulee Duo - Key Lime and Coconut Custard finished with Caramelized Sugar.


As it happened, we had been so quick in eating all this (or maybe rather, our server had been so quick in bringing it all out), that we were already finished quite a while before the fireworks started. Not a problem, though: Just a few steps brought us out onto the porch to watch the water pageant which was about to begin. I love it!

(The "real" pageant and fireworks shots somehow sadly all didn't quite turn out, so you get a "DH gazes melancholically at the Contemporary" one instead.)

Edited a couple of days later: Found a nice water pageant picture after all! Is this not just the most wonderful, old-fashioned, heart-warming show in all of Disney World?

Summing up this visit, the food was nice, the service was good and the view was wonderful, but we were not completely swept away (if I remember correctly, neither were we last time – really good food, but not great food, at least according to DH).
We probably won’t come here again on our next trip but rather try something else rather than coming for the third time in a row.

To anybody who hasn't been here before, though, I would unreservedly recommend to give Narcoossee's (at least) one try.


Coming up next: Breakfast at Tusker House!

 

[DisneyMamato4]

That filet looks so good, but that chocolate mousse dome has me drooling!!!

 

[annichan]

Just a quick warning: Somehow I did not take many pictures this morning – still, it was 100% more than I managed to take at night! (See, or rather don't see, sad evidence of this at my Jiko report later )

Getting into Tusker House was much more relaxed this time than last year – probably due to the fact that our ADR was at precisely 8.00 am this time, not 8.30, and we were thus among the very first people in the park and in the line. It was wonderful wandering along the deserted Animal Kingdom on our way to our breakfast in Africa.
I liked it even better than walking along the deserted Main Street U.S.A. en route to the Crystal Palace, maybe because we had so much longer to walk with the park virtually to ourselves here.

The queue at the podium, as well as the one for the Donald picture, was almost nonexistent (I don't know why we even queued for the picture as we did not want to buy it, must be that a hug from Donald is just too hard to resist – the picture must have turned out awful too, since nobody even came to our table to try and sell it to us ).

Anyway, within two minutes we were sitting comfortably at our table. On our last visit, we were given a table in the large dining room (turning right upon entering), and this time we got a chance to try the much smaller dining room turning left. Almost felt like we were in a different restaurant!

The great thing about getting up so early:

No lines for breakfast!


Stern words of warning on the wall:

Of course we did not dare venture far after reading this – but they still found us!

My breakfast was this really strange mixture I always end up lading my plate with at buffets:

Fresh fruit, a sweet pastry, scrambled eggs and potato wedges – eurgh, don't try this at home kids!

I was not very hungry so I did not even have more than this one plate (a waste, I know …).
The food was absolutely okay yet nothing special, just your normal kind of buffet food. (They do have a few more exotic dishes on the buffet I think, but as I did not really take a good look around all the foodstands this time, I am not even sure of that.)

Anyway, we were not really here for the food so much as for getting an early start in our beloved Animal Kingdom (it is DH's favourite park, and my second favourite after the MK) – so a short time later we were already positioned at the rope closing off the back part of Africa, happily waiting to be on our way to Kilimanjaro Safari.


Coming up next … with a lot more of an appetite and much more food photos: Lunch at Yak & Yeti!

 

[DisGirl819]

Thanks for the review of Tusker House. I'm super excited about this one. I'm wondering if I should change our ADR from 9 am to 8 am though, or somewhere close. I like the idea of a super empty restaurant with two kids.

 

[marcus.ka]

Thaaaank you so much for the great Mainstreet pictures and the Susi & Strolch picture for my desktop.

This all will make it a little bit less hard for me that no one will ever believe me again on the German board.

I can't wait for the hotel pictures.

 

[annichan]

That filet looks so good, but that chocolate mousse dome has me drooling!!!

Yes, that was great too!

Thanks for the review of Tusker House. I'm super excited about this one. I'm wondering if I should change our ADR from 9 am to 8 am though, or somewhere close. I like the idea of a super empty restaurant with two kids.

Well to be honest, it did not stay all that empty - I took the buffet shot when we were led to our table, so a few minutes later there were already some people there. It was nowhere near crowded, though.

So if you can get your kids to get up that early, it would certainly be a good idea. The restaurant is not as crowded, you get your walk through an almost-empty AK to get there, and if you manage to finish breakfast in under an hour you can pretty much walk onto one of the first Kilimanjaro Safari jeeps of the day afterwards.

Thaaaank you so much for the great Mainstreet pictures and the Susi & Strolch picture for my desktop.

This all will make it a little bit less hard for me that no one will ever believe me again on the German board.

I can't wait for the hotel pictures.

You're right, the hotel pictures! That is actually a good idea for tonight as I am much too tired for a full update (sorry!).

So I will just post some Yacht and Beach Club pictures:

The Beach Club Villas where we stayed (on rented points, in a studio. It was a really good bargain in comparison to paying full price for a hotel without points).

The view from our balcony, looking left ...

... and looking right. (Look closely, that's Spaceship Earth there hiding among the treetops to the left!)


A bench at the bus stop:

I wonder who sits there usually ...?


The Beach Club quiet pool:

It was only so busy that morning because Stormalong Bay, the main pool, was closed.


Looking from the Boardwalk area over to the Yacht Club and the pirate ship slide, quite early in the morning on our way to breakfast at Kouzzina:

Some Stormalong Bay pool area shots:

The ducks' private pool at Stormalong Bay (they do not only have their own benches but also their own pools there ):

And finally, the view towards the Beach Club Villas in the evening. The river in the foreground is home to lots of turtles, and behind it is the Villas quiet pool which is also a very nice place (especially late in the evening as it is open longer than Stormalong Bay).

I love this view!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

annichan: GORGEOUS pictures! How I miss Y&BC! I want to go back SO BAD! I loves staying there, it was like a dream come true.

 

[undertheseas]

Gorgeous photos!

 

[cbg1027]

I was underwhelmed by Narcoossee's - it was good, but I just don't think it's worthy of it's signature status.

Can't wait to hear about your Yak n Yeti visit - it's one of my favorites! I love AK too - I think it's my favorite park.

 

[Flossbolna]

I think you had a similar experience at Narcoossee's as we did, nice place, but just not that special unlike other Disney restaurants.

Tusker House is a great breakfast! I saw that sign about the animals as well and had a laugh about it! The whole area is just so well themed.

 

[Rekenna]

do you Americans also have tomatoes that look glorious and evoke memories of wonderful taste experiences, but once you actually eat them they are just bland and watery?

Hi! In the US tomatoes are best in late summer-August/Sept. Hothouse tomatoes, which I am going to venture a guess here, which Disney probably serves on their salads are not as good (obviously) as the tomatoes from my backyard. We have had salads at the Garden Grill and many of the vegetables served there are grown in The Land and the veggies are pretty good.

Sorry for the interruption, please carry on with your yummy reviews!