Ultimate Foodie Report- 9 Days DxDP, V&A QV Room, F&W Premium, & WL Club Level-Done!

[rustyanchor]

Looks like you guys had some great meals!

 

[mgentry210]

Just wanted to chime in and say I love your reviews! We are pretty much signature only for dinner people and love to have a drink (or three) wherever we go. Need to hit every F&W booth (and get those stamps). We also booked the Premium package (we arrive in a week). Only have a couple of dinners booked (CG and FF) since we signed up for a bunch of F&W events.

So nice that you gifted your dining credits and FP's...that's real Disney magic!

Thanks for the kind words! Please let me know how the crowds and areas look in the premium area. I am interested to see if it's still as uncrowded further into the festival.

The wine is smaller portions this year and I liked it that way because I got to try more! Have a Lost on Safari for me.

 

[mgentry210]

Hey, Love your reviews so far!! Just FYI, I am pretty sure the morocco picture is really the Gyoza from Japan.

You may be right... It was a lot of food and my memory is a bit fuzzy on some of the less memorable items.

 

[mgentry210]

I have heard nothing but great things about the WL CL. I tried to book it for Dec but it was all sold out months ago. I will have to live with the BC CL Thank you so much for the food and wine reviews, I miss it so much this year!

I know it's going to be rough, but I have faith you will survive! Let me know how it goes. That's one we haven't stayed in yet. And if they have those turkey cheese roll ups. It's a deal breaker for me. They do not have them at the Boardwalk. Just those peanut butter shooters.

Visit the Lodge at least to see the decorations. In my biased opinion it is the most beautifully decorated for Christmas.

PS. I love the picture of your Lapu Lapu. Great minds think alike!

 

[mgentry210]

I have heard nothing but great things about the WL CL. I tried to book it for Dec but it was all sold out months ago. I will have to live with the BC CL Thank you so much for the food and wine reviews, I miss it so much this year!

Hey! I also just noticed you are in San Antonio too! And you have the same Donald avatar as me. Very cool!

 

[mgentry210]

Using the Tables in Wonderland discount along with the Dining Plan can be confusing for the servers and for you. It got even worse with the addition of magic bands. Each server would ring up the bill differently. I am happy to report that we saw much improved consistency with the way the bill was presented this trip. Here's what to look for:

The Tables in Wonderland (almost always) automatically includes an 18% gratuity. When you are calculating your tip for the dining plan portion, remember to use the food subtotal as your basis for the tip. If you use the whole total you will be tipping on an amount that already includes a tip. Good for your server, not so good for your wallet.

You then have to add the tip to the total amount that includes the additional purchases. Confused yet? Try doing the math after a glass of wine.

Just thought I would mention it because the first few times using both, a few servers got a double tip. Hope this helps!

Here's the link back to the main page: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3338505

 

[mgentry210]

If you made it this far, thank you very much for your time. I know there are other things you could use your valuable time. I feel honored that you found enough value in my report to read it to the end. That or you are a Disney nut like me. Either way, I like you!

Second I want to apologize for our terrible pictures. I realized how bad many of them are as I am posting each one. I also apologize for all of the pictures of my chest region. Next time I will have hubby shoot from a different angle. The girls are in almost every picture! If you didn't notice this, please do not go back and look.

I thought I would wrap it up by ranking the restaurants in two categories, one credit and two credit. For obvious reasons, i am not including Victoria and Albert's. I am ranking them on overall experience, both food and service.

One Credit

Mama Melrose's
Yak & Yeti
Whispering Canyon Cafe
O'hana
Tusker House Breakfast

Two Credit

Flying Fish Cafe
Narcoossee's
Jiko- The Cooking Place
Yachtsman Steakhouse
California Grill
Le Cellier
Monsieur Paul
Artist Point
Hollywood Brown Derby (lunch)

Overall, I had a good time putting this together for you all and hope you enjoyed it. It was a once in a lifetime trip and thanks for going on the journey with us!

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[Redwitch]

Thanks so much - I enjoyed reading your reviews!

 

[bluetenshi55]

I rode Toy Story and the Tower of Terror. Wandered around the Frozen stuff and bought some things for our niece. I also ate my Disney pickle. They haven't made it into my trip report yet, but I eat at least 5 of these every trip.

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I am addicted. You can only buy them at Disney. Only in the Magic Kingdom in the farm stand outside the Haunted Mansion and in Tomorrowland in a cart outside the Electric Umbrella. You can also get them in the farm stand in Hollywood Studios on Hollywood Boulevard. If anyone knows where else to get them, let me know! I have checked Animal Kingdom top to bottom and have yet to uncover them in Epcot but there are so many places to look.

OHoOHOHO I'm sooo glad that you love the pickles. I do too... AND they're from my great uncle's pickle factory. Yep, my family's pickle factory. I actually did the presentation for the pickles when they were pitching them to Disney when I was in middle school! No one else could do a PowerPoint.

I refuse to eat any other pickles and since I moved out to Nevada (they have a factory in MI and FL), I have only gotten a taste every once in a while. They sell to Sysco and US Foods. You'll sometimes get the spears at chain restaurants. I sometimes get them at Panera. I could never get them to sell to consumers. They're too small for that.

If you don't mind, I'm going to send your post to my uncle. He'll be thrilled.

 

[superme80]

Loved it!!!! Enjoyed everything about it, even your photography. You and your husband are much better photographers than me! How wonderful you were able to pay it forward. Wonderful dining report!

 

[mgentry210]

OHoOHOHO I'm sooo glad that you love the pickles. I do too... AND they're from my great uncle's pickle factory. Yep, my family's pickle factory. I actually did the presentation for the pickles when they were pitching them to Disney when I was in middle school! No one else could do a PowerPoint.

I refuse to eat any other pickles and since I moved out to Nevada (they have a factory in MI and FL), I have only gotten a taste every once in a while. They sell to Sysco and US Foods. You'll sometimes get the spears at chain restaurants. I sometimes get them at Panera. I could never get them to sell to consumers. They're too small for that.

If you don't mind, I'm going to send your post to my uncle. He'll be thrilled.

Yes! Please forward my love. I used to live in NY and apparently no one in Texas understands a good pickle. I next day air pickles in once a year from NYC to cure my cravings. I would happily pay to buy your uncles pickles. They are a perfect snack between meals at disney. Cold, refreshing, healthy and cheap! Just the right amount of sour. I love digging through the ice to find the biggest, juicy one.

I will check our panera. I'm not sure I have ever seen a pickle there.

What a small world this disney family is!

 

[mgentry210]

Loved it!!!! Enjoyed everything about it, even your photography. You and your husband are much better photographers than me! How wonderful you were able to pay it forward. Wonderful dining report!

Thanks for the love! It really was fun surprising people. I think I am going to do it every trip now.

There was another day that was special too. We had seen Anna and Elsa the day before because our niece Lexi is Frozen obsessed. They recorded her a video message that was super cute. The next day on the bus back to the resort there was a little girl in full scale thrashing meltdown mode. Of course they picked the seat next to me. Mom immediately apologized. The girl was wearing a Olaf shirt so I smiled at her and started talking about Olaf. Still tears but not screaming. I pulled out my phone and showed her the video message. Giggles and smiles. Turns out her name was Lexi too! Amazing fate! Mom emailed a copy to herself and was so grateful she forced me to take an Olaf marshmallow. So cute. I brought is home to our Lexi. If there are any other Lexis out there, I am happy to share. Something about Disney that makes most people so nice.

 

[bluetenshi55]

What a small world this disney family is!

Exactly what I told my DH!

Awesome report and congrats on your Anniversary! Hopefully I do as well on my first dining report.

I had been wondering about V&A's a lot. I was going to surprise my husband with a trip, but we just bought a house and needed to save a bit of money. I think we'll go during our 2017 belated 5 year anniversary/My mom's finally retired trip.

If Gielow's ever decides to sell directly to the consumer, I'll let you know! I', still hoping that they'll stick an extra pail on for me when they ship out to Nevada. So far I've been out of luck. Can't really take a 10 gallon pail on the plane!

 

[superme80]

Thanks for the love! It really was fun surprising people. I think I am going to do it every trip now.

There was another day that was special too. We had seen Anna and Elsa the day before because our niece Lexi is Frozen obsessed. They recorded her a video message that was super cute. The next day on the bus back to the resort there was a little girl in full scale thrashing meltdown mode. Of course they picked the seat next to me. Mom immediately apologized. The girl was wearing a Olaf shirt so I smiled at her and started talking about Olaf. Still tears but not screaming. I pulled out my phone and showed her the video message. Giggles and smiles. Turns out her name was Lexi too! Amazing fate! Mom emailed a copy to herself and was so grateful she forced me to take an Olaf marshmallow. So cute. I brought is home to our Lexi. If there are any other Lexis out there, I am happy to share. Something about Disney that makes most people so nice.

I love stories like that!

 

[mgentry210]

Exactly what I told my DH!

Awesome report and congrats on your Anniversary! Hopefully I do as well on my first dining report.

I had been wondering about V&A's a lot. I was going to surprise my husband with a trip, but we just bought a house and needed to save a bit of money. I think we'll go during our 2017 belated 5 year anniversary/My mom's finally retired trip.

If Gielow's ever decides to sell directly to the consumer, I'll let you know! I', still hoping that they'll stick an extra pail on for me when they ship out to Nevada. So far I've been out of luck. Can't really take a 10 gallon pail on the plane!

Thanks for the congrats! Victoria and Alberts is definitely a splurge. 5 years sounds like a perfect excuse to budget. I cringed both times I saw the bill. You just have to tell yourself you saved for this and let the tipsy from the wine make it feel better.

Keep me posted on the pickles! Not sure I want 10 gallons though.... One however....

 

[vettegirl]

Oh how awesome you live in SA! Dismeet in the future

 

[jedijill]

What a fantastic review! I've eaten at most of the places you've reviewed and makes me want to make some ADR's for next F&W! I was really interested in the F&W Premium Package. I'll have to check it out for next year!

Jill in CO

 

[Couchy]

Wow! Great reviews. Loved reading them.

We have never done the dining plan, just TIW. We love using TIW since we don't always have typical orders. Flying Fish is our favorite Disney signature, but if you have not tried Bluezoo at the Dolphin( they accept TIW) it is amazing as well.

I enjoyed reading some of the places we never tried and I am super excited to try Mama Melrose... usually the only TS we lunch at is Via Napoli. I showed my DH your reviews and he said the steak at Flying FI\ish is better than Le Cellier. Also a new fav of mine is Citricos.

Thanks again for the reviews. You did an amazing job

 

[mgentry210]

What a fantastic review! I've eaten at most of the places you've reviewed and makes me want to make some ADR's for next F&W! I was really interested in the F&W Premium Package. I'll have to check it out for next year!

Jill in CO

Thanks for the positive feedback. I was so worried no one was going to read this post.

Go for it! They were really talking up big plans for next year's 25th anniversary. It should be very exciting. Other than the lack of seating and umbrellas (which I am pretty sure they are going to fix), it was a pretty good value. I would recommend it for couples and adult parties. It would probably be pretty boring for smaller kids.

 

[mgentry210]

Wow! Great reviews. Loved reading them.

We have never done the dining plan, just TIW. We love using TIW since we don't always have typical orders. Flying Fish is our favorite Disney signature, but if you have not tried Bluezoo at the Dolphin( they accept TIW) it is amazing as well.

I enjoyed reading some of the places we never tried and I am super excited to try Mama Melrose... usually the only TS we lunch at is Via Napoli. I showed my DH your reviews and he said the steak at Flying FI\ish is better than Le Cellier. Also a new fav of mine is Citricos.

Thanks again for the reviews. You did an amazing job

Thanks for the kudos! I do think Flying Fish is my favorite steak on property. And I've eaten lots of Disney steak. I always start out saying we are just going to use the Tables in Wonderland and then when I start making reservations and adding things up, it's usually cheaper to use the dining plan. I confess that I have spreadsheets for everything.

I have a soft spot for Citricos because that is where we held our wedding reception. They did a wonderful job. I have a bunch of pictures with the chefs photo bombing in the background. I really like their shortribs. I changed it out for Artist Point this time. Back to Citricos next trip!