What Do You Mean It's Time To Eat Again? A DxDDP Pictorial Upd. 11/1 Chefs de France!

[Nicole721]

Warning: This post my cause extreme hunger.

That is, of course, unless you're me and actually ate (or attempted to eat) all of this food! We got home from a wonderful trip to Disney last week and I'm still full (and we still have six boxes of treats from Goofy's left).

So, I'm Nicole and I'll be your hostess through this journey through food overload.

A bit of background: We got a wonderful little postcard in the mail way back in January offering us 30% off our vacation, which was just the nudge we needed to book our first full WDW vacation since 2001 (despite the fact we were doing a mini trip after a cruise in May) and make a return to our favorite resort, the Grand Floridian. We've made little trips here and there before or after cruises the past few years, but we were finally on our way to six unadulterated days in Disney! We decided on Deluxe Dining because on our previous small trips, we had done regular DDP and had spent quite a bit of money on extra meals, snacks, drinks, etc. So we booked the Deluxe Dining and then came the fun part: deciding where to eat. Finally, we could eat at all the places we never got to try before!

So, this review will cover...

Breakfast
Earl of Sandwich
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
1900 Park Fare
Kona Cafe
Chef Mickey's
Grand Floridian Cafe

Lunch
The Mara
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Coral Reef
Crystal Palace
The Wave
Chefs de France
Liberty Tree Tavern

Dinner
Wolfgang Puck Express
'Ohana
Tutto Italia
Cinderella's Royal Table
Narcoossee's
Le Cellier
Captain Cooks

And make sure you stick around to find out what happens when you have 34 snack credits left the day before you leave

The cast of characters (erm...family) on this trip:

Nicole (that would be me!). I'm 23 and I've planned every single detail of this trip. Of course, plans were made to be broken and it made for quite the adventure on this trip! I'm a lifestyles/fashion writer in Chicago and the ultimate foodie. I've spent months immersing myself in vacation planning and researching everything I possibly could. I even have a binder with everything WDW in it- including menus for all the restaurants. I'm also probably the most picky eater you'll ever meet. There's rarely a meal out where I don't modify something. Oh, and I took almost a thousand pictures on our six days at Disney (plus our pre- and post- trip trips). I don't think I want to know how many of them are of food but I guess we'll figure it out here

DSis (22). She's highly opinionated but refuses to admit it. She's in her last semester at school and we're eagerly anticipating planning a trip for just the two of us. She and I had many late night phone calls compromising on what to see and where to eat.

and DM and DGrandma (according to them, ladies never tell their true age). I think one of the reasons it was so easy to convince my mom to take us all on this trip was the fact that my sister and I didn't go to Disney as kids. My first time was on a choir trip to Magic Music Days when I was 14 and our first family trip there was when I was 16 and DSis was 15. She had no specific requests for this trip...other than a Turkey Leg and a Dole Whip. DGrandma has Alzheimer's but she loves Disney and we couldn't imagine taking a family trip without her. She's the least picky eater.

Quick Links:
Day 1: Breakfast at DTD and Snacking Around the WDW Resorts

Day 1: A Quick Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express and Some Sweets from Goofy's

Day 2: A Rowdy Lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe!

Day 2: Alohaaaaaaaaa from Ohana!

Day 3: A Royal Breakfast at Akershus!

Day 3: Lunch Under the Sea at Coral Reef!

Day 3: Viva (Tutto) Italia!

Day 4: A Very Merry Un-Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare!

Day 4: Winnie? Didn't We Just See You At Breakfast? Lunch at the Crystal Palace.

Day 4: Dinner Fit for a Queen at Cinderella's Royal Table

Day 5: The Big Kahuna's Take On Breakfast at Kona Cafe

Day 5: Riding the Wave over to the Contemporary Resort for Lunch!

Day 5: A Snack at Sunshine Seasons

Day 5: Dinner and a Private Fireworks Show at Narcoossees

Day 6: An Early Morning Breakfast with Mickey and Friends!

Day 6: Bonjour from Chefs de France!

 

[Bell30012]

I eagerly await the pix...

 

[luckytobeme88]

Can you work faster on your review? I have checking your update every 15 minutes...seriously!!

 

[TigerKat]

I'm in.....

 

[sandybobandy]

Count me in!

 

[MickeyNicki]

Awesome line up...especially interested in your GFC breakfast review

 

[bolgers love wdw]

Yum Yum!!! This is going to be a good one!!! Can't wait!!

 

[DanaAustinChelsea]

Can''t wait for you reviews! Many of the restaurants we have ADR's for during our first trip 9/19. Yay! Free dining

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I can't wait to see all of the pictures.

 

[John's Mom]

I'm in!

 

[suzimar57]

ok - you've got my attention!

 

[World Bouncer]

I have my seatbelt on ...

Ready for a great ride!!

 

[I'mwithGrumpy]

Eagerly waiting I've booked the deluxe plan for our next trip and am wondering how you do it and still feel relaxed? Do you feel like all you do is run from one ADR to another? We have used and enjoyed the DDP on previous trips, but always spent more OOP. So I thought we'd eliminate that and have all our bases covered this trip. But as I plan our meals I'm wondering how we can enjoy the parks and meals with feeling like we're constantly running. How did it work for you?

 

[jeminni]

I'm ready.

 

[habg1]

Start 'er up, I'm hungry!

 

[inkedupmomma]

alright.. ya got me

 

[sunshine43]

Patiently waiting in PA

robin

 

[kimgof]

 

[Krissalee]

I am looking forward to your reviews. I am so glad you brought DGrandma with you. I am a geriatric social worker and work with people with Alzheimers every day. I hope DGrandma enjoyed her trip with her family!!!! What a special family event!

 

[Nicole721]

Day 1: Breakfast at DTD and Snacking Around the WDW Resorts

When we booked our trip, we decided to drive this go around. We figured it would be cheaper than the four of us flying from Chicago (and it was...we got a great rate on a SUV from Alamo for $370 for the 13 days it would take us for drive/WDW/drive and it was around $400 for gas roundtrip). We stayed overnight in Atlanta (at the InterContinental Buckhead...highly recommend it) and then made our way to Orlando for our pre-trip trip to one of our favorite hotels, the Gaylord Palms, for two nights.

So, after a long, restful night's sleep, my sister and I awoke bright and early to do one of my favorite things: resort hop! When we did a pre-cruise stop in Orlando last May (we did a post-cruise trip to the Contemporary Resort), DSis hurt her leg and couldn't come with and was upset and I had big plans for us. So DSis and I left for some morning resort hopping while DM and DGM lounged around at the pool. DM would come meet us later for some more resort hopping fun.

We made our way to DTD for breakfast at Earl of Sandwich. We love Earl of Sandwich for lunch/dinner and I really wanted to try it for breakfast.

DSis ordered a chocolate chip muffin crown and a peach iced tea. The muffin was really moist and yummy, but really sweet. Too much dessert sweet for breakfast for my liking. But she liked it.

I ordered a Bacon, Eggs 'n' Cheese sandwich and some milk. It was amazingly good. While we were driving through Kentucky, we stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and, I kid you not, my Sausage McMuffin was so greasy that the wrapper was literally dripping grease. So I was glad to have a breakfast that was didn't taste like it was dropped in a vat of lard. The sandwich was a smaller, round version of the same bread they serve their hot sandwiches on with eggs, lots of bacon, and not so much cheese. I would have preferred a bit more cheese and a little less bacon.

After breakfast, we made our way over to the busses and hopped on a bus to our first resort. We hopped all over, making stops at the CSR, YBC, Boardwalk, and a boat ride to DHS before making our way over to the AKL. DM and I visited AKL back in May and it was the one place my sister really wanted to see. And I wanted to finally try some Zebra Domes so I was more than happy to go back with her. We had done a lot of hopping and it had been a long while since breakfast so DSis and I decided to grab some lunch at the Mara.

DSis got the Chicken Pita, which was grilled chicken, sundried tomato hummus, lettuce, tomato, and field greens in a lemon vinaigrette served with a couscous salad. It sounds really heavy but she said it was actually pretty light and very yummy.

I got the Falafel Pita, which is the same sandwich, but with falafel patties instead of grilled chicken. Being the annoying picky eater I am, I ordered mine plain- just hummus and falafel. And Oh.My.God it was one of the most delicious things I ate during our trip. I frequently craved it during our trip (but we were staying at the GF and it was too long a ride to get to AKL and back just for a sandwich). And the couscous salad? Amazing. Perfect mix of sweet, salty, and tangy. I wish I could have taken some home because it was unlike any couscous I'd ever had before.

DSis and I split an order of Zebra Domes for dessert and they did not disappoint! They were soft and chocolatey but a bit on the heavy side. Also, I thought I read (and tasted) that there was some alcohol in them but it wasn't listed on the ingredients. Maybe they've been changed (or not). They were still pretty good.

Our tray at the Mara

After lunch, we called DM to come join us because the pool time conked out DGM and she was taking a nap before dinner. So, we all visited a few more resorts before finding our way to POP. I was really excited to visit POP because I love the loud colors, the imposing figures, and I was dying to try some tie-dye cheesecake.

DM wanted something a little more healthy and substantial (but since it was vacation and everything was fat-free and calorie-free as far as I was concerned, I was fine with the cheesecake). She grabbed some bagel chips and hummus from the grab-and-go. The hummus was very plain, but the bagel chips were a bit salty so they made the perfect mix.

DSis didn't want cheesecake and got a Mickey ice cream bar instead, but I convinced DM to dive into this little slice of heaven with me. It wasn't the best cheesecake I've ever had (we have a Cheesecake Factory two minutes from our house and we know good cheesecake), but it was so fun looking and creamy that it didn't matter.

We walked around POP and shopped a little before heading back to DTD for dinner.

Up next: Dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express!

And thanks so much for the interest, everyone! I'll do my best to update this daily (if not multiple times daily!) and if anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to answer!