Where We Ate Around the World--DXDP 5-9 May

[blondinkaya]

Okay, please bear with me. I’m not used to writing any kind of a report, as this was our very first trip to the World. And what a trip it was! Anyway, here’s where we ate:

5 May:
Everything Pop Food Court
Settlement Trading Post for drinks (dh paid out of pocket)
Hoop Dee Doo Review

6 May:
Everything Pop Food Court (Snack)
Pecos Bill’s
Aloha Isle (Snack)
Tony’s Town Square

7 May:
Everything Pop Food Court (Snack)
Sci Fi Dine-In Theatre
Stunt Show Food Court (Snack)
Hollywood Brown Derby

8 May:
Le Cellier
Japan ODF Cart (Snack)
Norway Kringla Bakery (Snack)
Margarita Kiosk (Drink—out of pocket)
Coral Reef

9 May:
Chef Mickey’s
Goofy’s Candy Company (Snack)
Earl of Sandwich

Yes, looking back, it’s A LOT of food! But, I’m honestly happy that we got the deluxe plan; I know the regular one wouldn’t have sufficed, and we really wanted to make our first trip as inclusive as possible. Not including tips (since the plan doesn’t include them anyway), we ate the equivalent of roughly $1210 (the cost of mugs is included in that figure). The plan cost us $919.84 (our group consisted of dh, myself, and our two sons, ages 13 and 5), so we saved almost $300 by opting to use the plan. We dined at many places we wouldn’t have if we had to have paid out of pocket for them. The deluxe plan was a good decision for us.

Also, I didn’t take pics of the food. I kinda figured it’d all be posted already on the food porn thread

 

[blondinkaya]

We drove to WDW and were checked into Pop Century around 11:30. Since this was a short trip and our very first, we opted to do one park per day and plan our meals around that. Also, we decided to have lunch at the resort and explore a bit and then have dinner at the 7:15 showing of the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

Everything Pop

I found Pop’s food court a little confusing at first, but I don’t have any experience with food courts. A kind CM gave us a tutorial and we were on our way. We also picked up our refillable mugs. Here’s what we ate:

Dh: Pepperoni pizza, bottled water to go and soda in the mug, and chocolate cake. He didn’t have any complaints, so I guess that’s good. He did enjoy the cake, though.

Myself: Chicken penne alfredo, bottled water to go and soda in the mug, and tie dye cheesecake. OMG that piece of chicken was HUGE!!! I didn’t finish all of it because I wanted to save room for the cheesecake. Both the entrée and garlic breadstick and the cheesecake were excellent.

Ds #1: Followed in his father’s footsteps and had the pizza and chocolate cake. He ate everything, so he was either hungry or it was just that good.

Ds #2: Mac & cheese, grapes, applesauce, and chocolate milk. He didn’t care much for the mac & cheese, so I shared my chicken, penne, and some of my cheesecake with him. He was a happy camper.

Other than my initial confusion, I was quite happy with our meal. Approximate cost: Lunch and mugs--$58

Settlement Trading Post

We got to Ft Wilderness a little early and let the boys play at the playground. I sent dh over to the Trading Post to grab some drinks. The only thing is I forgot to tell him to use snack credits for them; I assumed he knew. Nope! He spent $9.48 for four drinks for us. Ah, well. At least our thirst was quenched.

Hoop Dee Doo

After spending the afternoon exploring the other resorts’ lobbies and riding the monorail and boats, we were ready for dinner. We had an awesome time with dinner! Our server, Bor (that’s what his nametag said), was totally into character with his bad puns and jokes. I didn’t much care for the chicken (I’m a boneless, skinless breast girl myself), but everything else was good. I especially liked the mashed potatoes. Oh, and the beer, too. It was refreshing.

While I enjoyed the entertainment, I think this show would be a one-time thing for us. I just don’t see us making it a tradition or anything. Cost: $191.94

 

[blondinkaya]

Since we wanted to be at MK at rope drop, we got up early and hit the food court. We filled our mugs (Dh and I had a coffee/hot chocolate combination, ds #1 had lemonade, and ds #2 had apple juice). Three of us had chocolate croissants and our youngest had a cream cheese danish which disappeared as soon as we sat down. I thought my croissant was a little dry, but it served its purpose. Cost: $11.42

Pecos Bill’s

It was close to noon when we were ready for lunch. The crowds weren’t bad at all that morning, and the restaurant reflected that. We spent maybe 15 minutes total in line. I was expecting worse because I’d heard horror stories about quick service restaurants during peak eating times.

Dh and I both had bacon double cheeseburger baskets with fries and carrot cake. We loaded our burgers with mayo, onions, and mushrooms. They were so good but so filling! The carrot cake was very good as well, very moist. We couldn’t finish our meals, they were so big.

Ds #1: ¼ lb burger. He made it traditional with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and tomato. He ate almost all of it and ate all of his carrot cake.

Ds #2” Cheeseburger kids meal with grapes and fries and apple juice. He ate it all.

I would definitely go here again. Food was incredibly generously portioned and tasty. Cost: $45.59

Aloha Isle


I’ve heard so many raves about the Dole whip that I knew this was a must-try, so we headed over to Aloha Isle while waiting to go on Jungle Cruise. We each had a pineapple float. They were incredible! And they were perfect on that warm day! Cost: $17.00

Tony’s Town Square

I was just a little bit leery about eating here, but I wanted to stay in the MK, so I made ADRs for Tony’s. I was not disappointed in the food, although I thought our server was a little odd. He noticed our boys’ police baseball caps and asked dh when the police went from being peacekeepers to policing people. I thought it was a little inflammatory, but dh handled it well. He said that he was a registered peacekeeper, that none of his paperwork said police on it. (He’s actually in the military but was a volunteer patrol officer at our last base). Anyway …

Dh: Calamari for appie, which was very good. Seafood Diavolo, which dh said was good as well; it’s an unusual dish for him to order. He raved about his crème brulee.

Myself: I had the tomato and mozzarella salad. LOVED it! I then had the chicken parmesan, which was tasty. It’s the first time in years that I had it and not prepared it, kwim? For dessert I had the tiramisu, which was incredible. I was quite content with my choices, although I couldn’t finish and didn’t even try to, lol

Ds #1 started out with a house salad and then had spaghetti with Italian sausage. Eh, sometimes he’s adventurous and sometimes he’s not. This was a non-day for him. He did enjoy his Ice Cream bomb dessert, though.

Ds #2 had carrots and celery, then mac & cheese (I ended up sharing my dinner w/him because he didn’t care for his pasta), finishing with an ice cream sundae.

Other than feeling weird about the conversation our server started, dinner was very good. I think that in the future I’ll try somewhere else, just because I like trying new things. I thought Tony’s was very good. Cost: $120.96

 

[blondinkaya]

It was an EMH day, but we just couldn’t get ourselves up to be at rope drop at 8am. In fact, it was 8am when we made it to the food court for breakfast. Dh, myself, and Ds #2 had fruit bowls, which were refreshing. Ds #1 had a chocolate muffin, which he liked. Cost: $12.32

Sci Fi

We had an 11:05 ADR for Sci Fi. I tried to check in 10 minutes early but was told to wait until 11:00. The front counter area was packed with families and didn’t seem very organized. After about 10 minutes, our names were called and we were seated. They were having technical difficulties with the video clips (we got to hear it but not see anything until halfway through our meal). Our server was very, very nice, and I think that went a long way in our enjoyment with Sci Fi.

Dh: Onion rings, chocolate shake, rib plate, and chocolate tart. He said the shake filled him up, lol, but the onion rings were to die for. He also said the ribs and dessert were good, but he was too full to truly enjoy them.

Myself: I started with the spinach artichoke dip and tortilla chips. I think this was actually one of the best appies of the trip. I’ve got to find the recipe, it was that good! I had the angus cheeseburger, which was really too big but delicious all the same, a cherry coke to drink, and the cheesecake. I love cheesecake, and this stuff was awesome! It had caramel sauce and caramel corn and M&Ms. Yummy!

Ds #1 had chili (of all things), followed by the chicken sandwich with fries, a chocolate shake, and bottled water for his dessert. Like dh, he said he filled up on the shake and was very full by the end of the meal.

Ds #2 had the pizza kids meal with a chocolate shake, and he ate ALL of it. I think he liked it.

All in all, while I did like the food, I was a little disappointed in the atmosphere, especially taking into account the fact that we weren’t able to watch the film clips until we were halfway finished. When we go again, we’ll probably give Prime Time a try. Cost: $105.87

Stunt Show Food Court

Actually, it was a cart that sold drinks. We were so hot and thirsty around 2pm that we decided to use some snack credits on frozen drinks. Dh and ds #1 each had a frozen coke and ds #2 and I had frozen raspberry lemonades. It was definitely a good use of a snack credit! Cost: $14.02

Hollywood Brown Derby

I figured we might have an issue with an early dinner after such a large lunch, but I really wanted to use the Fantasmic package, Hollywood and Vine didn’t appeal to me, and neither did Mama Melrose’s (seeing that we had Italian the day before). That left Hollywood Brown Derby. We weren’t famished or anything. Honestly, I didn’t think any of us were hungry. That changed once we sat down and ordered our food.

Dh: Cobb salad, Duck breast and venison sausage, and banana white chocolate toffee tower. He was quite satisfied with everything.

Myself: Cobb salad, ahi tuna, and crème brulee. Everything was delicious!

Ds #1: Market greens salad, Rotisserie chicken, and banana white chocolate toffee tower. He didn’t eat much of his chicken; he wasn’t a fan. He said everything else was good, though.

Ds #2: Beef and macaroni kids meal with salad and hidden treasures dessert. Yet again, he cleaned his plate.

I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and the restaurant and would do it again for sure. It was a real treat for us. Cost: $162.91

Everything Pop Food Court

After Fantasmic was over and our bus pulled into the resort, the boys were a little munchy-ish. They each got a rice krispy treat and shared a bottle of cranberry juice in the room. Dh and I shared a bottle of water. Cost: $11.53

 

[blondinkaya]

We opted to not have a breakfast snack at the resort, instead figuring that we’d grab a breakfast in Epcot. Little did we know we wouldn’t have time for it. We ended up not eating anything until lunch.

Le Cellier

I came very close to canceling this ADR because I’d heard how overrated it was and how disappointed in the menu people were. I ended up keeping it, and I’m sure glad I did! IMO this was the BEST meal of the entire trip!

Dh started off with the spicy chicken and chipotle sausage. I’m surprised he was willing to share a bite with me, lol. He totally devoured the dish. He ordered the strip steak for his entrée, followed up by the chocolate whiskey cake. He was impressed with his meal. I really need to figure out how to make this stuff!

Myself: I’ve heard so many things about the cheese soup that I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to try it. It was so delish that it was hard to resist picking up and licking my bowl clean! I decided to have the mushroom filet mignon, and it did not disappoint. It was sooooo good, almost melting in my mouth. For dessert I got the chocolate moose. Not only was it cute, it was tasty as well.

Ds #1: It was at this point that he realized the chocolate shakes had been filling him up. Of course it didn’t happen until AFTER the meal, but at least it was a revelation! In addition to the shake, he wanted to try the cheese soup, too, and ordered that in addition to the steak salad. He opted not to order dessert. He said everything was really, really good, that he was just full.

Ds #2: He wanted the soup as well. He then had a shake, hot dog, and sundae. He didn’t eat much of the soup, but I was happy that he tried it and like dipping his pretzel bread in it (I totally did NOT tell him to do it—it just came naturally to him!).

Like I said, this was the BEST meal we had while in the World, and many of our meals were excellent! I NEED to get the recipes for everything we ate! Cost: $139.47

Japan ODF Cart and Norway Kringla Bakery

Of course we all had to have kaki gori’s; I’d heard all about them here! And they were quite welcome in the heat of the day (maybe it was the pavement but Epcot was HOT). Cost: $9.00

We made our way around the world from Canada and finally happened upon Norway. After Maelstrom we decided to try some school bread. They were huge! We got two and shared. Mighty tasty! Cost: $5.25

We did stop by the Margarita Kiosk after Norway and bought two fiesta margaritas for $18.11 out of pocket. Phenomenal drinks and well worth it! Dh went to La Cantina Bar and bought each of the boys an orange soda out of pocket for $4.26.

Coral Reef

For some reason, I thought our ADR was for 7:00pm on the dot. Silly me, I didn’t double check with my cheat sheet. Come to find out it was for 6:10 and we missed it! I didn’t find out until around 6:40, when we finished the Seas and Turtle Talk. Luckily they were able to get us in with almost no wait.

Dh: He had the chilled shrimp, which were quite tasty. He then opted for crab legs, which were huge, in my opinion (but I’m no expert). For dessert he had the Bailey’s and Jack Daniel’s mousse. This was his favorite meal of the trip.

Myself: I started with the land and sea dish. I particularly enjoyed the beef. I ordered my NY strip medium well. It came out medium but I ate it anyway, it was still good. For dessert I had the chocolate wave. You guys weren’t kidding about the brandied cherries! Wow! I had to try one, just to do, and dh voluntarily ate the rest.

Ds #1: He ordered the cod cake, which he liked, the grilled chicken, which he absolutely raved about (yes, a 13-year-old boy raved about a dish), and chocolate wave (minus the cherries—dh nabbed those before he had a chance to try them).

Ds #2 had a fruit salad appie, grilled salmon, and sundae. He ate everything but some of the fruit salad. It was unusual for him to eat non-breaded fish. I was impressed.

Although the restaurant was quite noisy, we all enjoyed it and would go again. It was easily dh and ds #1’s favorite meal of the trip. Cost: $164.95

Everything Pop Food Court

We decided to let the boys decide between staying for Illuminations or hitting the pool, and the pool won. While we were there, we all had frozen cokes. I love those!

 

[blondinkaya]

Well, our trip was almost finally over. The only things left to do involved packing, loading the car, going to breakfast, hitting Downtown Disney, grabbing lunch to go, and heading home. It was a sad day, but we were very happy with how well our trip had gone.

Chef Mickey’s

After making a couple of wrong turns, we finally made it to the Contemporary with 20 minutes to spare. We checked in at the front of Chef Mickey’s and did not wait long before our name was called. Incidentally, we forgot to have our picture taken. Ah, well …

The buffet was very good. There wasn’t anything we ate that that we didn’t like. Oh, and the coffee! I think it was real, lol. The boys loved the character interaction, but ds #2 became really bashful when Minnie came up to the table and tried to hug him. Cost: $87.29

Goofy’s Candy Company

We had six snack credits to spare, and what better way to use them than at Goofy’s? We got one rice crispy Mickey head each and a Pez for each boy (they love Pez). We brought everything home with us and are still trying to work our way through the treats! Cost: $18.16

Earl of Sandwich

We wanted to get some sandwiches before leaving so we wouldn’t have to stop on our way home, so we went to Earl of Sandwich. We all opted to have chips instead of dessert, and we all had lemonades with our sandwiches.

Dh: Caribbean Jerk Chicken. He said it was awesome.

Myself: The Original 1762. Very good.

Ds #1: All American. He loved his and let me have a piece. I should’ve ordered that!

Ds #2: PB&J. He didn’t like it very much because he said there was too much peanut butter and not enough jelly. I should’ve ordered him a grilled cheese. Doh!

I’m very happy I decided to use our last meal credits here. It was a much better alternative to going through a McDonald’s drive thru on the way hime, kwim? Cost: $35.79

 

[minniemee]

Thanks for the great reviews! It sounds like you had some awesome meals!

 

[ciera321]

Great reviews, thanks!!! I'm glad you gave Le Cellier a try. I read bad reviews on some of my favorite restaurants (Le Cellier included) and just understand that everyone is different in what they like and expect.

 

[mcrabeck]

Great Reviews! Thanks for Sharing!

 

[John's Mom]

Thanks for the great reviews!