Who's Gonna Have More Fun? Two PTR's for the Price of One!

[JoBird]

Jo...my ds12 had the swine flu too!!! And while he had that,my ds15 had a sinus infection and his throat was teeeerrrible...coupled with a gastrointestinal virus. It was a bad time at our house! I am so glad that 's all over!!!!! Love your countdowns and the pigs!!

Wow- that was a bad time in your house! When you have a family of 5-- someone's always going to the Dr aren't they???
Belle had the Swine when we were supposed to be going to a FL football game in Mississippi. We got her in immediately to see the Dr, started Tamiflu the day before we left and by the next morning, her fever had broken so away we went. She slept the whole way to Mississippi. I had planned on staying in the hotel room with her while everyone went to the game, but she said she had to go see the Gators play. Girl after my own heart, I tell ya! Daddy was certainly proud.

Thanks Shawna!!

We don't really have any countdowns going on other than on the dry erase board in the garage. We have it in weeks and change it every Friday!!


Do you think she's going to do it??? DS9 has no interest.





Love all the piggy countdowns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think she will ride Space-- she has talked about it nonstop. We'll see I guess!
I do have a TR title-- but you know me-- something crazy always is going on so it's no telling WHAT the title will end up being.

 

[sjs314]

Deluxe Resort Dining---


Okay so let's see where else we have eaten--

Not too many other places! We tend to go to the parks for most meals, but have been to a couple others--


Big River Grill:


What we ordered:

Atlantic Salmon - salmon filet, flame-grilled, with dill butter and served with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables $22.50

Blackened Mahi Mahi Sandwich* - spicy seared filet on a baked roll with lettuce, tomato and Chipotle Mayonnaise, served with kettle chips $13.50

Belle had a Grilled Cheese, and Drew and MC shared a pasta dish but I don't remember what it was--- the Alfredo maybe?

Thoughts:
We really really liked BRG the one time we went. I thought my Salmon was one of the best dishes I've had on property. I also liked that you could walk up for a table. It was cold when we went--- like, freezing! And it was nice that we got seated right away. The waitress was a little annoying, but not too bad. I think it had more to do with me being cranky than anything else. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Animal Kingdom Lodge:

Jiko-

What we ordered:

Barbecue Chicken Flatbread- with Apple-Jicama slaw, African barbecue sauce, and four cheeses $10

Jiko Salad - with Georgia peaches, crispy plantain, hazelnut praline, honeyed chevre, blood-orange vinaigrette $13.00

Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon - with hominy "risotto", California asparagus and Red Wine Reduction $41.00
(This is different than what we had when we went-- ours was served with mac n cheese)

Thoughts:
*sigh* This restaurant is beautiful. I mean, stunning. It is romantic and there is a really good vibe here. You are treated like royalty from the moment you walk in the door. The servers are exceptional. I learned a lot about Africa from them- one server told us all about the village he was from. It was so interesting!
The only downside for me---- I didn't care for the spices that were used in just about all of the dishes. Something in them tasted peculiar to me and I was so dissapointed because everything else was superb.
That said--- I would definitely go back. It was a circumstance here of "It's not you, it's me." The food was not nasty to me- it just was..... strange maybe and may take some getting used to, I guess? I would recommend that people try this place, simply because others might totally get the taste of the food. Rating: 4 out of 5 (mostly for how much I loved the atmosphere!)



And I think that concludes Deluxe Resort Dining!

You cranky Jo ................No way
Never been to either BRG or Jiko's but seriously thinking about hopping over to BRG if we do a second day at DHS

I love this idea!!!!!
I might have to steal it!
You can join my procrastinators club. So far I only have one member. Me. All the other procrastinators are procrastinating joining.

Jo I have belonged to that club since before you were born One thing I like about flying is we stay over the night before at a hotel near the airport so I have to be done packing the day before. On previous trips when we drove I would still be packing when the alarm went off for the others to get up.

Good morning PTR friends!




Practice packing Yes -- I'm a little crazy!! I am actually into the real packing now! I can't wait to get to WDW and be able to tell you all about it!


It is so exciting!!

And you are leaving SO soon!!!!!!!!!!



We thought about the Aloha show, but it says an "open air" theater and I figured that open air would be HOT air!! So we passed.

I got a good chuckle over the practice packing.

You know I think we went to the Aloha show during one of our Easter vacations so April, I do not recall it being hot but then I was pretty tipsy that night too

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great dining reviews Jodi! Gotta love BRG!! I kind of doubt I would like the food at Jiko's either. But it sure sounds like a nice place.

I think she will ride Space-- she has talked about it nonstop. We'll see I guess!
I do have a TR title-- but you know me-- something crazy always is going on so it's no telling WHAT the title will end up being.

I hope she tries it!!

The last time I was on Space I was talking to you!! Well, right after anyway. Remember that?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I got a good chuckle over the practice packing.

You know I think we went to the Aloha show during one of our Easter vacations so April, I do not recall it being hot but then I was pretty tipsy that night too

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hi guys! Thought I'd actually post today. Been too busy lately, but I've been trying to keep up reading along.
YAY! It's August!!! Shelly you get to go this month!
Love the pig countdowns Jo!

Shelly - we did the luau dinner on our summer trip in 2010 and it wasn't too bad. There is a roof over pretty much all the seating, so you're not baking in the sun. The wine did take the edge off for me, but a cold beer would have been good too. Wine tends to make me warm (from the inside out!)

I think I'd like to try BRG one day too. It's been highly recommended by some very reliable sources!

I think Jiko would be in my future - I know we'll be back at AKL one day since we bought a few points there, so that would be convenient!

I've been listening to the podcast about Aulani and now I'm DYING to go there! Must buy more points first! It's gonna be costly!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi guys! Thought I'd actually post today. Been too busy lately, but I've been trying to keep up reading along.
YAY! It's August!!! Shelly you get to go this month!
Love the pig countdowns Jo!

Shelly - we did the luau dinner on our summer trip in 2010 and it wasn't too bad. There is a roof over pretty much all the seating, so you're not baking in the sun. The wine did take the edge off for me, but a cold beer would have been good too. Wine tends to make me warm (from the inside out!)

I think I'd like to try BRG one day too. It's been highly recommended by some very reliable sources!

I think Jiko would be in my future - I know we'll be back at AKL one day since we bought a few points there, so that would be convenient!

I've been listening to the podcast about Aulani and now I'm DYING to go there! Must buy more points first! It's gonna be costly!

Hey Sheree!

YAY it's August!! We are very excited!

You should really try BRG sometime! I bet you would like Jiko. You guys are more adventurous eaters than us!


I want to go to Aulani so bad too!!!!!!!!!! I've been all over the website and watched all the videos. It looks so awesome. I just can't find airfare to Hawaii for less than $4000+.

 

[lovethattink]

Following the link from the August thread. Will go back and catch up on reading tonight. I love PTRs and TRs!! Looking forward to the reading!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Following the link from the August thread. Will go back and catch up on reading tonight. I love PTRs and TRs!! Looking forward to the reading!

There are links to all the updates in the second post if that helps. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey Sheree!

YAY it's August!! We are very excited!

You should really try BRG sometime! I bet you would like Jiko. You guys are more adventurous eaters than us!


I want to go to Aulani so bad too!!!!!!!!!! I've been all over the website and watched all the videos. It looks so awesome. I just can't find airfare to Hawaii for less than $4000+.

well, I am an adventurous eater. Not so much for the rest of the family. But Dave will eat meat just about anywhere and I know they have good steaks at Jiko.

We are managing to find airfare to Europe for less than $4000! that's the big thing for Hawaii - I don't think the resort will be so hard to book since it costs most people a fortune to get there and the resort rooms are pretty pricey. It doesn't sound like they wll offer discounts as they do at WDW either. We definitely have to get more DVC points! Cuz, you know, that's so much cheaper! HA!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

well, I am an adventurous eater. Not so much for the rest of the family. But Dave will eat meat just about anywhere and I know they have good steaks at Jiko.

We are managing to find airfare to Europe for less than $4000! that's the big thing for Hawaii - I don't think the resort will be so hard to book since it costs most people a fortune to get there and the resort rooms are pretty pricey. It doesn't sound like they wll offer discounts as they do at WDW either. We definitely have to get more DVC points! Cuz, you know, that's so much cheaper! HA!

I was messing around on the Aulani website and I priced out a trip and it didn't come up quite as expensive as I expected. Still high, but not awful. Not much more a night than an non-discounted room at the Poly! So anyway, I thought -- well this may be doable. Then I added airfare into the price of the trip (thru Disney) and the price went up over $5000. So I thought I would check on airfare on other sites and I sure couldn't find it much cheaper. I couldn't believe it. I sure hope I can figure out how to find it cheaper or we may never make it to Hawaii!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good morning!



To round out our WDW Dining posts:

Moderate Resort Dining.....



We have been to all the food courts at the Moderates, but none of the sit down restaurants. We do plan to try Shutters at CBR on this trip. It seems to get mixed reviews, so I am hoping for the best!


We have stayed at CBR twice and we have been to the Old Port Royale food court 6 times! Three times on each trip. We have always been very pleased with our meals there. The food is very good and has always been made fresh to order. There are several stations plus a grab-n-go section. So definitely something for everyone! The food court is simple to navigate and the CM's are very friendly & helpful, and there is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.

We have stayed at POFQ once. We ate at the Sassagoula Floatworks food court 3 times while we were there. I would say the food court there is good, but not as good as CBR or POR. It's just smaller with less choices. As far as I remember everything we had there was very good. Sorry, I could only find a few pics.

Continued in next post.....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

continued....


We have stayed at CSR once. We were not impressed with the Pepper Market food court. As a matter of fact it is one of the reasons we probably wouldn't return to CSR. The food court at CSR is not Disney owned and you can tell. The service was very poor. We gave it 3 tries and were very disappointed each time. The employees were very rude and even argumentative. You have to get a card and get it stamped at each station, the kids have to order from a complete separate station, and you have to tip for someone to bring you drinks. Just too much of a hassle. On the plus side, the food was decent! Again, sorry I could only find a few pics.

We have stayed at POR once. We ate at the Riverside Mill food court 2 times during our stay there. The food court is very good and has lots of choices! We really enjoyed it. I loved the create-your-own salad, it was so good! The CM's are very friendly & helpful. The items from the bakery station are fantastic!

 

[JoBird]

Good Morning everyone! Hope you aren't all melting from the heat. We have the pleasure of the high today being at 110 degrees. Add in the heat index and we're looking at 120. I'm gonna have to go to FL just to cool off. Huh. Who knew???

You cranky Jo ................No way
Never been to either BRG or Jiko's but seriously thinking about hopping over to BRG if we do a second day at DHS

Jo I have belonged to that club since before you were born One thing I like about flying is we stay over the night before at a hotel near the airport so I have to be done packing the day before. On previous trips when we drove I would still be packing when the alarm went off for the others to get up.

I got a good chuckle over the practice packing.

You know I think we went to the Aloha show during one of our Easter vacations so April, I do not recall it being hot but then I was pretty tipsy that night too

Nah- I'm never cranky. Downright Mean... yes. Cranky... no.


Parking at the airport sounds like something I should do. That way it's forced packing ahead of time.

Great dining reviews Jodi! Gotta love BRG!! I kind of doubt I would like the food at Jiko's either. But it sure sounds like a nice place.




I hope she tries it!!

The last time I was on Space I was talking to you!! Well, right after anyway. Remember that?

I'm pretty sure Jiko's food would not suit you. The atmosphere is wonderful, though. They have this one wall that changes colors gradually to represent the rising and setting sun. It is beautiful.

Awww, I do remember you calling me from Space! That was fun! I think it will be me calling you this time saying--- "Whelp, she hated it and is in freak out mode. Guess we'd better get some snacks!"

Hi guys! Thought I'd actually post today. Been too busy lately, but I've been trying to keep up reading along.
YAY! It's August!!! Shelly you get to go this month!
Love the pig countdowns Jo!

Shelly - we did the luau dinner on our summer trip in 2010 and it wasn't too bad. There is a roof over pretty much all the seating, so you're not baking in the sun. The wine did take the edge off for me, but a cold beer would have been good too. Wine tends to make me warm (from the inside out!)

I think I'd like to try BRG one day too. It's been highly recommended by some very reliable sources!

I think Jiko would be in my future - I know we'll be back at AKL one day since we bought a few points there, so that would be convenient!

I've been listening to the podcast about Aulani and now I'm DYING to go there! Must buy more points first! It's gonna be costly!

Do try BRG! I think it's a hidden gem. And Aulani----- wow. It would be so wonderful.

Following the link from the August thread. Will go back and catch up on reading tonight. I love PTRs and TRs!! Looking forward to the reading!

Welcome!!!!!

I was messing around on the Aulani website and I priced out a trip and it didn't come up quite as expensive as I expected. Still high, but not awful. Not much more a night than an non-discounted room at the Poly! So anyway, I thought -- well this may be doable. Then I added airfare into the price of the trip (thru Disney) and the price went up over $5000. So I thought I would check on airfare on other sites and I sure couldn't find it much cheaper. I couldn't believe it. I sure hope I can figure out how to find it cheaper or we may never make it to Hawaii!

You can't go to Hawaii.- You're going to DL!!!

 

[JoBird]

Great Mod Dining Post Shelly!

It's nice to read about them all-- all in one post so you can see the differences.

CBR-- the pics made me smile. You make the food court food sound really great! I think it all looked really good when we were there- It's a fun atmosphere, but the only thing we ever got from there were muffins the first day. But I did go every morning for Nescrappy coffee.

CSR- I dunno. That food court sound like a mess. I don't think I'd have the patience for it. I remember you were less than enthused with it.

POR-- I smiled and got that "Disney Tingle" that we talk about when I saw the pics. That cookie..... Yum.

POFQ--- We've never eaten at the food court at all there. Strange. Did you try a beignet????


Not long to go and we'll both be heading out for another round of eating in the World! Aren't we happy?????

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I am so hungry right now and all that food looks so good!

I hope Shutters is good for you. We don't plan on eating there, but we might end up changing our minds. It does have very mixed reviews from what I've read too.

You are very lucky to have stayed at all the mods. They all have great theming, I think. I don't know that we would like CSR that much either though. I think it is the fact that it's a conference resort that turn me off. Just seems stuffy or something.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Great. I might have to start eating my lunch now. At 11 a.m. Dang food pictures...


Shutters - never tried it. It was never remotely busy when we went by it in the past. Kevin and John from the DIS unplugged have a review that is just hysterical. They hated it, and had ridiculously horrible service. But they will say the same thing - try it for yourself. You might get lucky.
(but then you can't blame them if you don't like it either - you were warned! )

I've been pretty lucky with my WDW dining. I've never had a really horrible experience. Some have been better than others. But I'm not too fussy.
Although - I took the girls to Applebees last week when DH had to work. OH MY GOSH! That was about the smallest tip I've left in YEARS! The service was so slow, (she had about 4 tables), she was difficult to find when needed, then she tried to keep my gift card with $ left on it. The only good part was that the food was edible. I should have ordered an alcoholic drink! I could not get out of there fast enough. We used to eat at an Applebee's often, but definitely don't like it as much. They've closed one near us. It's all gone downhill.

I don't think I'd like CSR much either. The theme doesn't really appeal to me and the food court sounds like chaos. Especially where we'd all be going to different places...

Tip for bringing me a drink? Here's a quarter. Don't spend it all in one place. I could do that myself, thank you very much. Or give it to me at the counter. Like most normal places do.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Good Morning everyone! Hope you aren't all melting from the heat. We have the pleasure of the high today being at 110 degrees. Add in the heat index and we're looking at 120. I'm gonna have to go to FL just to cool off. Huh. Who knew???


110?

It has cooled down here some. We are only in the 80's, but still sticky humid.



I'm pretty sure Jiko's food would not suit you. The atmosphere is wonderful, though. They have this one wall that changes colors gradually to represent the rising and setting sun. It is beautiful.


I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like much there, but you sure make it sound so nice!


Awww, I do remember you calling me from Space! That was fun! I think it will be me calling you this time saying--- "Whelp, she hated it and is in freak out mode. Guess we'd better get some snacks!"


I hope you call saying she loved it!!! Will you take her on it that first day?



You can't go to Hawaii.- You're going to DL!!!

But I want to go to Hawaii instead!!!

Great Mod Dining Post Shelly!

It's nice to read about them all-- all in one post so you can see the differences.

CBR-- the pics made me smile. You make the food court food sound really great! I think it all looked really good when we were there- It's a fun atmosphere, but the only thing we ever got from there were muffins the first day. But I did go every morning for Nescrappy coffee.


I love the feeling of an open air market in the CBR food court. And we have always had good experiences there. Hopefully that will continue.

Did you get one of those huge muffins???



CSR- I dunno. That food court sound like a mess. I don't think I'd have the patience for it. I remember you were less than enthused with it.


I can see you losing your patience there really fast!!


POR-- I smiled and got that "Disney Tingle" that we talk about when I saw the pics. That cookie..... Yum.


Aw, a Disney Tingle.


POFQ--- We've never eaten at the food court at all there. Strange. Did you try a beignet????


We did try the beignets. Not a big fan. I thought DH would love them because he loves donuts & pastries and all that, but he didn't care for them.

Not long to go and we'll both be heading out for another round of eating in the World! Aren't we happy?????

Yep!! Not long and we will be dining away at WDW once again! YAY for 10 days of no cooking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should we post our list of where we are eating???

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Shelly, your food pictures look so good!!! I am starving so should not have read before lunch. I love the idea of create your own salad. Awesome!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I am so hungry right now and all that food looks so good!

I hope Shutters is good for you. We don't plan on eating there, but we might end up changing our minds. It does have very mixed reviews from what I've read too.

You are very lucky to have stayed at all the mods. They all have great theming, I think. I don't know that we would like CSR that much either though. I think it is the fact that it's a conference resort that turn me off. Just seems stuffy or something.

That's the trouble with posting food pics so early in the morning, everybody gets hungry way before lunch!!

I thought we should give Shutter's a try. Then we will know for ourselves. I'm not expecting anything great, but you never know.

Yes, all the mods have excellent theming and great pools! CSR was definitely our least favorite. Just not a good experience.

Great. I might have to start eating my lunch now. At 11 a.m. Dang food pictures...


Shutters - never tried it. It was never remotely busy when we went by it in the past. Kevin and John from the DIS unplugged have a review that is just hysterical. They hated it, and had ridiculously horrible service. But they will say the same thing - try it for yourself. You might get lucky.
(but then you can't blame them if you don't like it either - you were warned! )



That sounds hilarious. I hope we don't have an experience like that! I'll be sure to let you all know!



I've been pretty lucky with my WDW dining. I've never had a really horrible experience. Some have been better than others. But I'm not too fussy.
Although - I took the girls to Applebees last week when DH had to work. OH MY GOSH! That was about the smallest tip I've left in YEARS! The service was so slow, (she had about 4 tables), she was difficult to find when needed, then she tried to keep my gift card with $ left on it. The only good part was that the food was edible. I should have ordered an alcoholic drink! I could not get out of there fast enough. We used to eat at an Applebee's often, but definitely don't like it as much. They've closed one near us. It's all gone downhill.



Service at our Applebee's is usually pretty slow too. We don't go too often. We have found that we like Chili's better.



I don't think I'd like CSR much either. The theme doesn't really appeal to me and the food court sounds like chaos. Especially where we'd all be going to different places...

Tip for bringing me a drink? Here's a quarter. Don't spend it all in one place. I could do that myself, thank you very much. Or give it to me at the counter. Like most normal places do.

Yeah, it's kind of a crazy set up. Yep -- they add 10% right to your bill for a tip. Definitely not my kind of food court! Too much hassle. When we are going to a food court at our resort we just want a quick and easy meal!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Shelly, your food pictures look so good!!! I am starving so should not have read before lunch. I love the idea of create your own salad. Awesome!

Thanks Kelli!

The create your own salad is great! You tell them everything you want in it and they mix it all up right there in front of you. Really neat!