Alice BlueBonnet
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2008
- Messages
- 160
Hello again everyone!!!!
For those who haven't read any of my dining or trip reports before, I'll do a quick intro.
I'm Alice
I am 29 (soon to be 30) and like everyone on here, I love Disney. I am what I like to call a semi-adventurous eater, since I'm not a huge fish fan. I also hate tomatoes. A lot. But beyond that, I'll try anything.
This year I'm travelling with my cousin, and we shall call her Belle. She loves Disney almost as much as I do, and having only been twice, is beyond excited for this trip with me. She is an adventurous eater, but this is a bit limited since she is a pescetarian (aka vegetarian who eats fish).
HOWEVER....we both enjoy the libations, so we have some fairly serious plans in that department as well. She can, and will, drink anything. I am wildly allergic to wine, I hate beer but I do love the hard stuff lol.
That seems like enough background, on to the good stuff!!
We are planning to arrive Oct 5 2013 and stay until the 13th. I say "planning" because while the trip is booked and dining plans have been made, I've been off work since June of last year (quite sick, better now and returning to work in May) so....I still have to book the time off
I'm hoping that since I'll have been back for months, and that I'm not asking for time off in the summer, that it won't be an issue, but keep your fingers crossed friends. After the last year, I could really use some Disney Magic 
We are staying at POFQ, something we are both really excited for. On my last trip, I stayed at one of the All Stars, and while they are fine and normally where I stay, I'm looking forward to a smaller and quieter resort. Plus, the central location will make any cabs we take cheaper, and the boat to DTD is a bonus. I'm a bit nervous for Belle, since her last trip was CL AKL. Let's hope she is just excited to be in Disney!
Now, what you've all been waiting for....the dining plan portion!!
As you know from the title, we are doing Deluxe Dining. Is it going to save us money? Maybe. If it does, barely. But we find, no matter how illogical this may be, that paying for it upfront keeps us from second guessing dining choices, such as eating in the castle for dinner. We are also masters of this by now, and we know that spacing out meals is KEY. So let's do this!!
Day One - Arrival Day
We are planning to fly out early morning and hope to be at our resort around noon, and therefore in a park by one at the latest. Since we find HS to be such a cluster mess of a park, we are going on arrival day to try and knock out some shows, in the hopes of making our full HS day a bit easier.
Lunch - Mama Melrose - 1:30
Then we will do what we can until park close at 6 (the marathon is that night, so it closes early), head back to the room to unpack and then take the boat to DTD!!!! We will do a little bit of shopping and then...
Dinner - T-Rex - 9:00
Neither one of us has eaten here, and while I'm sure food wise there are much better choices...I love dinosaurs.
Day 2 - AK Morning/Epcot Evening
I swear we aren't park hoppers by nature, but in an attempt to do as much F&W as possible, we're doing a split day. This works especially well since I don't love eating at AK.
Breakfast - Tusker House - 8:10
Umm, this is to get into the park early. As are all of our breakfast ADRs. We would both be more than content with a juice, some fruit and a bagel for breakfast every day, but I've become a bit addicted to early park entry lol. Also I could mainline the juice here if that was a thing. If only it came with vodka.
Lunch - F&W Festival Booths!!!
Yes, the plan is to snack around the world a bit that afternoon before...
Dinner - Le Cellier - 8:30
Am I taking a pescetarian to a steakhouse? Yes, and not the only time on this trip. Thank goodness she isn't a straight up vegetarian, or else I'd have to miss a few of my favourites. Yes, I love Le Cellier. I get the same thing every time, it's never been a fail. Is it signature worthy? Meh. Do I care? Nope, give me a pretzel breadstick, some soup and that damn mushroom risotto and I'm a blissy girl.
Note: We don't really care if we see the night shows anywhere except HS, and sadly that's not offered on our HS days, so you'll notice we tend to eat at 8:30 almost every night.
Day Three - MK (and it's EMH)
Ugh. I avoid EMH like they are the plague, but sometimes it's all that works in the plan. At least they aren't morning EMH lol.
Breakfast - Snacks
Likely to be consumed while waiting for the bus to make rope drop. Just like every other person, we want to get the new Fantasyland over and done with. The goal is Storytime with Belle first, LM second and then focus on everything else. This is not our only time in MK, so we aren't too concerned.
Lunch - Liberty Tree - 11:30
Dinner - Be Our Guest - 8:30
SO EXCITED! Beauty and the Beast is our favourite movie, and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to get a table here after reading the boards. But we had our choice of nights and times, and this was exactly what we wanted!!!!!
The park, because of EMH, is open until 11, so maybe as we waddle out we will do some extra rides.
Day Four - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Hollywood and Vine - 8:00
Two words. Tater tots.
Lunch - Sci-Fi - 11:30
I love this place. The food is decent, but the dark, air conditioned atmosphere is the equivalent of a nap. Also, I can make my diet coke a diet cherry coke. And then drink 8 gallons of it.
Dinner - Jiko - 8:05
One of my favourite restaurants on property, I look forward to trying out a new appetizer on every visit. I am really excited to bring Belle here.
Day Five - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - Crystal Palace - 8:10
A hug from Eeyore, is there a better way to start one's day? Maybe throw in some orange juice and some puffed french toast. Good thing I can get all three of these things here!
Also, Belle has never been in a park before open, which I think is
so hopefully she enjoys it
Lunch - Plaza - 11:20
I really enjoy the Plaza. Enough that I'm always hesitant to say so, for fear others will catch on and it will become difficult to get a ressie. The service is always outstanding, the food is fresh, and it's a cute little place. It may not be the best "value" for a dining credit, but as far as I'm concerned, it's worth it.
Dinner - Citricos - 8:55
So, what we really want is California Grill. Right now, they aren't taking reservations because of the refurb, so we snagged Citricos. I've eaten here once, and it was lack luster, so I'm really hoping that we can ditch this and snag a Cali Grill ressie.
Day Six - Epcot
Breakfast - Akershus - 8:15
This is 100% to meet Belle in her yellow dress. Akershus, from prior experience, is a hassle. Turns out, when you aren't doing things along the way, walking from the front of the park to Norway seems to take FOREVER.
Lunch - F&W Festival Booths!!
Also, it should be stated, this is the day we will attempt to drink around the world. The no wine thing, and my hatred of beer, will make this more difficult for me. Maybe I'll just drink a lot of margartias from La Cava to make up for this
Dinner - Chefs de France - 8:30
Day Seven - DTD and (hopefully) MNSSHP!!
Breakfast - Snacks
Actually, we will be sleeping. Partially to recover from the wild consumption of alcohol, partially because we plan to close down the halloween party
Lunch - Paradiso 37 - 11:30
This may be the only dining reservation I'm really nervous about. I've never eaten here, and the reviews are so-so. But the menu sounds interesting, so I figured why not?
Dinner - Royal Table - 5:30
This has become tradition for me. I love getting dressed up for the halloween party and eating with the princesses. Plus, it's the CASTLE!!!
Day Eight - Epcot
Breakfast - Snacks
We figured we should skip the morning breakfast ressie, because we will likely want to sleep in a bit.
Lunch - Coral Reef - 11:30
I'm never too fussed with the food here, but it seemed a good choice for pescetarian Belle
And that is the sacrifice I'm making because of where I'm making her eat dinner.
Dinner - Yachtsman - 8:30
Yep. The meatiest of restaurants and I'm taking a vegetarian. She's a good friend.
Day Nine - Departure Day - AK
Breakfast - Snacks
I've learnt my lesson on breakfast ressies on checkout day. It's not a good mix. So we will grab a snack at AK.
Lunch - Yak and Yeti - 11:30
Another tradition for me. Also a quick, delicious place to grab food.
And that's it! The whole plan!!
Suggestions, comments, and concerns are all welcome. Especially in the "drink" and "snack" category
For those who haven't read any of my dining or trip reports before, I'll do a quick intro.
I'm Alice
I am 29 (soon to be 30) and like everyone on here, I love Disney. I am what I like to call a semi-adventurous eater, since I'm not a huge fish fan. I also hate tomatoes. A lot. But beyond that, I'll try anything. This year I'm travelling with my cousin, and we shall call her Belle. She loves Disney almost as much as I do, and having only been twice, is beyond excited for this trip with me. She is an adventurous eater, but this is a bit limited since she is a pescetarian (aka vegetarian who eats fish).
HOWEVER....we both enjoy the libations, so we have some fairly serious plans in that department as well. She can, and will, drink anything. I am wildly allergic to wine, I hate beer but I do love the hard stuff lol.
That seems like enough background, on to the good stuff!!
We are planning to arrive Oct 5 2013 and stay until the 13th. I say "planning" because while the trip is booked and dining plans have been made, I've been off work since June of last year (quite sick, better now and returning to work in May) so....I still have to book the time off
I'm hoping that since I'll have been back for months, and that I'm not asking for time off in the summer, that it won't be an issue, but keep your fingers crossed friends. After the last year, I could really use some Disney Magic We are staying at POFQ, something we are both really excited for. On my last trip, I stayed at one of the All Stars, and while they are fine and normally where I stay, I'm looking forward to a smaller and quieter resort. Plus, the central location will make any cabs we take cheaper, and the boat to DTD is a bonus. I'm a bit nervous for Belle, since her last trip was CL AKL. Let's hope she is just excited to be in Disney!
Now, what you've all been waiting for....the dining plan portion!!
As you know from the title, we are doing Deluxe Dining. Is it going to save us money? Maybe. If it does, barely. But we find, no matter how illogical this may be, that paying for it upfront keeps us from second guessing dining choices, such as eating in the castle for dinner. We are also masters of this by now, and we know that spacing out meals is KEY. So let's do this!!
Day One - Arrival Day
We are planning to fly out early morning and hope to be at our resort around noon, and therefore in a park by one at the latest. Since we find HS to be such a cluster mess of a park, we are going on arrival day to try and knock out some shows, in the hopes of making our full HS day a bit easier.
Lunch - Mama Melrose - 1:30
Then we will do what we can until park close at 6 (the marathon is that night, so it closes early), head back to the room to unpack and then take the boat to DTD!!!! We will do a little bit of shopping and then...
Dinner - T-Rex - 9:00
Neither one of us has eaten here, and while I'm sure food wise there are much better choices...I love dinosaurs.
Day 2 - AK Morning/Epcot Evening
I swear we aren't park hoppers by nature, but in an attempt to do as much F&W as possible, we're doing a split day. This works especially well since I don't love eating at AK.
Breakfast - Tusker House - 8:10
Umm, this is to get into the park early. As are all of our breakfast ADRs. We would both be more than content with a juice, some fruit and a bagel for breakfast every day, but I've become a bit addicted to early park entry lol. Also I could mainline the juice here if that was a thing. If only it came with vodka.
Lunch - F&W Festival Booths!!!
Yes, the plan is to snack around the world a bit that afternoon before...
Dinner - Le Cellier - 8:30
Am I taking a pescetarian to a steakhouse? Yes, and not the only time on this trip. Thank goodness she isn't a straight up vegetarian, or else I'd have to miss a few of my favourites. Yes, I love Le Cellier. I get the same thing every time, it's never been a fail. Is it signature worthy? Meh. Do I care? Nope, give me a pretzel breadstick, some soup and that damn mushroom risotto and I'm a blissy girl.
Note: We don't really care if we see the night shows anywhere except HS, and sadly that's not offered on our HS days, so you'll notice we tend to eat at 8:30 almost every night.
Day Three - MK (and it's EMH)
Ugh. I avoid EMH like they are the plague, but sometimes it's all that works in the plan. At least they aren't morning EMH lol.
Breakfast - Snacks
Likely to be consumed while waiting for the bus to make rope drop. Just like every other person, we want to get the new Fantasyland over and done with. The goal is Storytime with Belle first, LM second and then focus on everything else. This is not our only time in MK, so we aren't too concerned.
Lunch - Liberty Tree - 11:30
Dinner - Be Our Guest - 8:30
SO EXCITED! Beauty and the Beast is our favourite movie, and I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to get a table here after reading the boards. But we had our choice of nights and times, and this was exactly what we wanted!!!!!
The park, because of EMH, is open until 11, so maybe as we waddle out we will do some extra rides.
Day Four - Hollywood Studios
Breakfast - Hollywood and Vine - 8:00
Two words. Tater tots.
Lunch - Sci-Fi - 11:30
I love this place. The food is decent, but the dark, air conditioned atmosphere is the equivalent of a nap. Also, I can make my diet coke a diet cherry coke. And then drink 8 gallons of it.
Dinner - Jiko - 8:05
One of my favourite restaurants on property, I look forward to trying out a new appetizer on every visit. I am really excited to bring Belle here.
Day Five - Magic Kingdom
Breakfast - Crystal Palace - 8:10
A hug from Eeyore, is there a better way to start one's day? Maybe throw in some orange juice and some puffed french toast. Good thing I can get all three of these things here!
Also, Belle has never been in a park before open, which I think is
so hopefully she enjoys itLunch - Plaza - 11:20
I really enjoy the Plaza. Enough that I'm always hesitant to say so, for fear others will catch on and it will become difficult to get a ressie. The service is always outstanding, the food is fresh, and it's a cute little place. It may not be the best "value" for a dining credit, but as far as I'm concerned, it's worth it.
Dinner - Citricos - 8:55
So, what we really want is California Grill. Right now, they aren't taking reservations because of the refurb, so we snagged Citricos. I've eaten here once, and it was lack luster, so I'm really hoping that we can ditch this and snag a Cali Grill ressie.
Day Six - Epcot
Breakfast - Akershus - 8:15
This is 100% to meet Belle in her yellow dress. Akershus, from prior experience, is a hassle. Turns out, when you aren't doing things along the way, walking from the front of the park to Norway seems to take FOREVER.
Lunch - F&W Festival Booths!!
Also, it should be stated, this is the day we will attempt to drink around the world. The no wine thing, and my hatred of beer, will make this more difficult for me. Maybe I'll just drink a lot of margartias from La Cava to make up for this
Dinner - Chefs de France - 8:30
Day Seven - DTD and (hopefully) MNSSHP!!
Breakfast - Snacks
Actually, we will be sleeping. Partially to recover from the wild consumption of alcohol, partially because we plan to close down the halloween party
Lunch - Paradiso 37 - 11:30
This may be the only dining reservation I'm really nervous about. I've never eaten here, and the reviews are so-so. But the menu sounds interesting, so I figured why not?
Dinner - Royal Table - 5:30
This has become tradition for me. I love getting dressed up for the halloween party and eating with the princesses. Plus, it's the CASTLE!!!
Day Eight - Epcot
Breakfast - Snacks
We figured we should skip the morning breakfast ressie, because we will likely want to sleep in a bit.
Lunch - Coral Reef - 11:30
I'm never too fussed with the food here, but it seemed a good choice for pescetarian Belle
And that is the sacrifice I'm making because of where I'm making her eat dinner.Dinner - Yachtsman - 8:30
Yep. The meatiest of restaurants and I'm taking a vegetarian. She's a good friend.
Day Nine - Departure Day - AK
Breakfast - Snacks
I've learnt my lesson on breakfast ressies on checkout day. It's not a good mix. So we will grab a snack at AK.
Lunch - Yak and Yeti - 11:30
Another tradition for me. Also a quick, delicious place to grab food.
And that's it! The whole plan!!
Suggestions, comments, and concerns are all welcome. Especially in the "drink" and "snack" category
