You Used a Snack Credit on a COKE? - WDW, Universal, Sanibel - **COMPLETE**

[Bayshore]

Just wanted to say that I'm enjoying your food report but there is no way I would go for the DDP after reading it, food looks really tired and stodgy. Anything fresh like fruit/veg seems to be in short supply.

Roaring laughing at the tinned cold sweetcorn being called seasonal vegetables on the menu.

Looking forward to the next entry (and wishing my kids were as adventurous as Poot) .

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Bayshore

Just wanted to say that I'm enjoying your food report but there is no way I would go for the DDP after reading it, food looks really tired and stodgy. Anything fresh like fruit/veg seems to be in short supply.

Roaring laughing at the tinned cold sweetcorn being called seasonal vegetables on the menu.

Looking forward to the next entry (and wishing my kids were as adventurous as Poot) .

See more...

Yes...seasonal veg, indeed...

We did get a fruit pot every morning with our breakfast (grapes, strawberries, pineapple...) - you can have those instead of a drink. And when we ate at the Signature restaurants - there were always an appropriate portion of vegetables. I do think it was trickier at the 1 credit restaurants (though that was not ALWAYS true, stay tuned!).

We really like fresh, raw veg - so were grateful to get those big salads.

I think that what we're talking about is really the problem with fresh food/processed carbs in microcosm. So many of the poor in the West live mostly on processed carbs, because they're cheap (or are perceived to be cheap, but that's another story). And Disney piles (and piles) up processed carbs for people, because it's cheap.

For our dates, the DDP was "free" - and it was HEAPS of fun for my son to pick out restaurants and meals. But he has a pretty varied palate and is used to something more like five-a-day. In the end he, too, struggled to find a good balance (and he was 9!). Having said that, there was almost always a salad available at the QS restaurants - and he didn't always pick them...you CAN make healthier choices, but it is more of a challenge on the DDP.


Speaking of Poot - I think I've written this in a comment before, but it's my laziness that led to his adventurous palate. I only offer two choices at mealtime: Take It or Leave It!

This is definitely more of a reply than you wanted, I'm sure!

Thanks so much for commenting.

[Guest]

I'll not be replacing my GG reservation with that one then... haha

[Guest]

Originally Posted by LittleNoo

I'll not be replacing my GG reservation with that one then... haha

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You have a mean streak, LittleNoo.

I like it.

[Ycryan]

I've just read through your food report from the start and am absolutely loving it, so funny. I think we might have been there around the same time? We arrived 31st Oct until 18th Nov. I loved watching the construction of the GF Gingerbread house, amazing when it was finished.

Can't wait for the next instalment. Thank you for sharing.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Ycryan

I've just read through your food report from the start and am absolutely loving it, so funny. I think we might have been there around the same time? We arrived 31st Oct until 18th Nov. I loved watching the construction of the GF Gingerbread house, amazing when it was finished.

Can't wait for the next instalment. Thank you for sharing.

See more...

Thanks so much - we were definitely there at the same time (great minds )! 28 October - 17 November for us. It was a pretty perfect time to be at WDW, I thought (though busier than I expected, with SO MANY New Jersey accents ).

Poot and I got to have a look at the GF Gingerbread House when it was done - Wow! Did you buy one of the "tiles" to eat? I meant to, but forgot...

Thanks again for commenting - I appreciate it!

[Ycryan]

Originally Posted by GopherLass

Thanks so much - we were definitely there at the same time (great minds )! 28 October - 17 November for us. It was a pretty perfect time to be at WDW, I thought (though busier than I expected, with SO MANY New Jersey accents ).

Poot and I got to have a look at the GF Gingerbread House when it was done - Wow! Did you buy one of the "tiles" to eat? I meant to, but forgot...

Thanks again for commenting - I appreciate it!

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That was our first time going in November, we normally go September, and I thought the weather was fantastic. It was busy though, especially EPCOT.

I loved the GF Gingerbread House, I never got the chance to buy one of the tiles either. Although a Cast Member was telling me they start baking the tiles in June, but the ones they sell are a lot fresher - thank goodness! x

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Ycryan

That was our first time going in November, we normally go September, and I thought the weather was fantastic. It was busy though, especially EPCOT.

I loved the GF Gingerbread House, I never got the chance to buy one of the tiles either. Although a Cast Member was telling me they start baking the tiles in June, but the ones they sell are a lot fresher - thank goodness! x

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I like September for crowds, but it's SO HOT! You are obviously hard-core...

[disneytrio]

Wonderful report, loved looking at all your food photos.

[Guest]

Day 15 - Food and Wine Day!


BUT, and more importantly...



Today was 11 November...

By this morning the lurgy had hold of me...and I wasn’t moving too fast, so we just picked at some leftover pineapple (from yesterday’s Artist’s Palette brekkie) and headed out to Epcot.

As well as being Remembrance Day, today was the last Friday of the Food and Wine Festival.


And the crowd at Epcot was SO big...I began to wonder if Disney might open World Showcase a bit early on days like this…so we headed towards Canada, and - lo and behold - the food booths were open and serving at 10:30 AM. We walked right up to all three of our snack stops with NO WAITING! Yay!


Snacks, Epcot Food and Wine Festival


First stop: Farm Fresh

In my Highs and Lows I said that the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls (in Magic Kingdom) were my favourite Disney guilty pleasure. But if this little beauty from the Farm Fresh booth was available all year round, IT would have won the prize.

Loaded Mac n’ Cheese with Nueske’s pepper bacon, Cheddar cheese, peppers, and green onions ($4.50 - we used 1 snack credit per portion).


Poot really wanted to try this - I was less eager, because I’d read a pretty poor review of it on EasyWDW (skimpy portion, mushy pasta, too many bread crumbs, if I remember rightly). But wow! I did not agree! This was SO good - cheesy and (so) bacon-y and just a little bit spicy. The spiciness helped to combat the lurgy for a little while, too - so I’m counting it as medicinal.


I ducked into the Port of Entry shop nearby to grab a soda for me and a bottle of cold water for Poot - we needed them to help with the SPICY. And yes (please don’t yell at me!), I used snack credits to buy them - we were so behind with our snack credits that I thought it was better to use them on drinks than to let them go to waste...


AT LAST - the title of the report makes sense.


Poot was still hungry - on we went to Canada...

...where we shared the Canadian Cheese Soup.

This was $4.75 OOP, but we used 1 snack credit. Do you remember the shot glass of macaroni Poot ordered back on Day 0? Well, this was its soupy cousin. If I had paid $5 for this itty-bitty, teeny-tiny portion of soup, I would have been (wait for it…) cheesed off.


It’s a shame this one felt like a bit of a swizz, because it was DELICIOUS. One of my favourite winter comfort foods is “Beer Cheese Soup” - and this tasted a lot like that. It wasn’t overly cheesy (I’ve had some cheese soups that tasted like fondue, ack!) but rather well-balanced with what I think was a bit of Worcestershire sauce.

Mmm...so good. For your money, you also get a pretzel roll. I thought we’d be fighting over this one, but it was just OK. Better than the pretzel roll I had on the flight over, but not the bread from heaven I thought it would be...shame.


Today we were also attempting to complete "Remy's Ratatouille Hide and Squeak Challenge", and while we hunted for vermin in fin de siecle Paris, Poot saw that the France F&W booth had snails on offer.

Snails are his absolute favourite food, so we couldn’t pass up:

Croissant aux Escargots - $5.75 (we used one snack credit)


By now, World Showcase was getting busy, but we found a spot for Poot to sit down and eat. Seated next to us was an American lady, who saw Poot eating the snails, POINTED and then yelled out, “EEEEEW! How can you eat that! It’s so ICKY!”


Poot, ever sanguine, continued munching away and countered with, “They are actually quite delicious. Have you tried snails before?”


“No - Gross!”


“Then how do you know they’re ‘icky’?”


“They’re snails!”


“That doesn’t make any sense.”


I struggled with this, because I want Poot to always speak respectfully to adults. But...SHE started it (so I let her twist in the wind for a while, I just couldn’t help myself ).


In the end I suggested that perhaps they should agree to disagree - but seriously, people...who points and yells at a KID and then has a pop at him for what he’s eating? It was just...poor.


Poot actually found the interchange quite funny and was eager to tell my husband all about it the next day. But he’s a pretty confident little chap - what if he had been trying snails for the first time, or was easily upset?


Back to the food -


Poot’s verdict on the snails: good, but he would have preferred more snails and less croissant. And a little pot of garlic butter. I didn’t try these - there were only three snails in the dish, and they are Poot’s very, very favourite - only fair that he got to eat them all.


I won’t lie, I found it EXTREMELY amusing that we watched THREE different Americans eat the snails ON A DARE! I told Poot we should come back tomorrow and do some snail hustling, but he just gave me the mother-you’re-so-embarrassing look and headed off to look for the next rat.


That was the end of MY food for Day 15. Apparently, I told Poot to eat some of his Halloween candy for dinner (when we got back to our room after visiting Magic Kingdom) - but I have no memory of that...I was pretty ill that night.


If you'd like to read about the rat-hunt in Epcot, or our flying (and crying ) visit to Magic Kingdom - Day 15 in the main trippie is HERE.