We're back...Halloween 2002 Grand Plan YC Report

[The Duchess]

Stayed Halloween Week at YC (+one night at Wilderness Homes) on Grand Plan...it was great!
Reader's Digest condensed version of our trip :
Friday October 25th
Fort Wilderness Homes (remodeled from 2000? Seemed nicer.)
Went to outdoor movie (Lion King II) and ate at Trails End Buffet.
Gary our waiter gave us lots of advice.

Saturday October 26th
Checked in at YC. Got Concierge privileges b/c of Grand Plan but we requested our favorite room 3063...great view.
Lunch at Coral Reef. No tables for 4+ near tank )-:<
Spent some time at Epcot.
Room Services for Dinner and Illuminations fireworks from balcony

Sunday October 27th
Boma for breakfast...packed but we had a PS...great coffee!
Went to AK.
VIP Parade Viewing at AK...not very crowded.
Hoop Dee Doo Review for Dinner...corny but cute. DS loved it. He's four.

Monday October 28th
Cape May Character Breakfast...very cute.
Went Bass Fishing and caught four fish (catch and release) very relaxing and fun.
Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table. DS terrified of Cinderella and at the end of the meal, she rode down in the elevator with us...YIKES! Went on a few rides at MK.
Fantasia Mini Golf and Mickey Boats...FUN!!

Tuesday October 29th
MGM...started with Playhouse Disney.
Lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe....fun
Rode Rock and Roller coaster...INTENSE!!
Fantasmic....great show.

Wednesday October 30th
Dolphins in Depth...very educational and being in the water with the dolphins was unbelievable...once in a lifetime experience.
Lunch at Tempura Kiki...Love that place! Great sushi and tempura.
Dinner at Yachtsman Steak House...YUMMY!!!! A Must Eat At. Get the Stag's Leap Merlot.
Illuminations Cruise. Excellent, would do again...non alcoholic drinks and great dessers on board.

Thursday October 31st
Back to Animal Kingdom in AM....MK in afternoon.
Dinner at Artist Point...great food but not a Must Do Again.
MNSSHP was a lot of fun...no lines at any of the "E" ticket rides.
Our 5th anniversary.
Friday November 1
Disney Family Magic Tour...a MUST DO!!!

DO NOT READ AHEAD IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THE END OF THIS TOUR....

At the end of the tour, Peter Pan and Wendy appear and take the kids through Fantasyland to Peter Pan's Flight. DS was only child on tour (other child was an infant...there were only 6 of us on the tour.) Then Peter and Wendy rode with DS! It was really great even though DS was a little leery.

Okay...

Friday night Dinner at Victoria and Albert's. Was embarassed when streeeetch limo appeared at YC as our transportation. Last time had normal town car. Food and wine pairing were fantastic.

Any Questions...please ask.
Also, we drove from MASS. Two nights down and two back.

Too Long of a Wait for Next Trip.....

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Sounds like a great trip - what was your dinner at V&A like? thanks for posting!

 

[The Duchess]

V&A was really a great meal. We had been on our Honeymoon in 1997 but skipped on our 2000 trip (DS was only two. Did not seem to be too busy for a Friday night. Victoria was really nice, didn't see too much of Albert. The harpist was very relaxing.
Menu was :

Amuse Bouche (??) = Seared tuna strip...delish
with really good champagne...Duval-Leroy Brut...
I will never buy cheap champagne again!

Australian Kobe Beef Carpaccio with Fennel and Hearts of Palm Salad with Hartford Pinot Noir

Seared Squab with Qince and Pear Compote and Lemon and Black Pepper Vinaigrett with Piper Brook Vineyards Riesling

Crayfish Bisque

Roasted Duck with Sweet Potato Pure and Pomegranat Jus with Coteaux du Languedoc...this wine name is too long to write!!

Terrine of Sorbet with Seasonal Fruis with a sweet dessert wine...also too long to write!!

Hawiian Kona Chocolate Souffle with coffee (coffee presentation was in a really unique glass coffee "pot" that brewed at the table.

Too yummy for words!!
If anyone wants the complete menu, let me know.

V&A had real butter, but Room Service served "Butterine" which even sounds icky...the nicer restaurants seemed to have real butter still, but the Butterine kept popping up.
Also, the coffee was sometimes really bad...that Nescafe syrup stuff.
Concierge had good coffee, also the Yachtsman and of course V&A. Boma had a fantastic press pot coffee. The little bookstore that used to be the Ellen Show attraction at MGM also had fresh brewed but is hard to find...it's by the Muppet 3D movie.
Some of the coffee we tried was too awful to drink!

 

[nutz4dzny]

Sounds like a wonderful trip! The Grand Plan is awesome! Thanks for Posting!

 

[The Duchess]

I can't believe WDW is changing the name of the Grand Plan to the Platinum Plan. Whose brilliant idea was THAT? It doesn't sound nearly as appealing. I guess it will be easier for the restaurants to deal with than Resort Magic, Deluxe Magic and Grand Plan.

Also, I didn't see ANY lime green ribbons which kind of bummed me out.

 

[jennymouse]

Sounds like you had a fantastic time! Sorry I didn't run into you, we were at AK, MGM & Halloween Party at the same time. Thanks for posting!

 

[The Duchess]

jennymouse,
I looked everwhere for lime green ribbons! I am kind of bummed I didn't see any. Oh Well only 723 days to my next WDW vacation.

 

[wdwnutze]

Dushess- Enjoyed reading you trip report. Sounds like you had a great time. I am planning on driving to WDW next Dec. from the So. Shore area. How was the ride? I'll be traveling with 2 other adults and 2 children (11 & 5). We are hoping to only have to stay 1 night on the road(leave at 4am and drive til 8pm or so and then finish the next day.) How long was the drive and was a week in WDW enough after the long drive? Thanks for your help!

 

[yepod]

Thanks for the report!

We too were at the 'world' form the 23rd to the 31st!

We wore the lime green ribbons on all our butt/back packs & on DDs stroller everyday & had absolutely NO ONE notice

I won't bother again.

We did the Family Magic tour on the 27th & loved it (there were 6 of us also with our 3 1/2 yo DD & other families 5 yo DD)!
We got an extra ride in that my DD asked Peter if he wanted to go on IASW with her! Bless her innocence, I hadn't even heard this untill DW explained later!

Enjoyed your descriptions of the food!

 

[The Duchess]

We actually rented a Ford Excursion for the trip b/c we were traveling with my parents who stayed at the Beach Club.
So, it was me, DH, DS (four) and my parents.
I had to re-route us twice because of the "situation" in Virginia (they actually caught the snipers the very night we were staying in Harrisonburg, VA) We went 495 to 90 to 84 to 81 to 77 in PA then over to 95 in South Carolina, staying second travel night in Savannah, GA. The ride down was okay (DS was occupied with Game Boy, puzzle book. CD player and VHS) and we did see quite a bit of construction, although it only really slowed us down twice. We got to see all the foliage in the mountains, which was nice. There are, however, a strange amount of dead deer on this particular route which is kind of grisly.
We had three drivers, so it wasn't too bad. I think I-95 will be faster next time especially if we can re-route around NYC and DC. I would definately like to do it in 2 days next time. We were actually at Disney 8 nights/7 days, staying at Fort Wilderness Cabins one night b/c we arrived at WDW around 6pm. We always like to arrive one night early so we can check in at YC first thing in the morning the next day. FWC are a lot of fun and I think I would like to maybe do two nights there next time. We went to the outdoor movie/sing along and it was really fun. People seem to have a lot of fun there, but we love the YC.