‘We’re not gonna’ make it, we’re not gonna’ make it….’ 2018 Food report with DDP - NOW COMPLETE

[Scotscraig]

A bit of a lie in today and then muffins for breakfast from Artist Palette

and then a run to Blizzard Beach.

After some great fun, we left around 1pm and headed back to SSR where we had lunch in the Artist Palette. The choices here are a bit limited here but DW and I shared a tuna sandwich and the in laws shared a cheese and ham one. DS had a pepperoni flatbread.

The tuna sandwich was really nice with plenty of filling.

We had some snacks having subbed our drinks – Strawberry shortcakes for MIL and I, Oreo cupcakes for FIL and DW and a chocolate croissant for the kid before heading back to the villa.

I wasn’t feeling my best here, and had a lie down, later feeling much the better for it.

It was then off to HS and after a few rides we checked in at The Sci Fi Dine in for tea. The server was a bit of a pain here and seemed to be trying too hard. He also seemed intent on us being rushed through both courses as quickly as possible.

We had some cocktails to start – Magical Stars for the girls and Orbiting Oreos for the guys. All very good. The boy had a chocolate milkshake.

For the mains, I chose the Specialty burger which came with Pimento cheese and a fried green tomato

which was not good, the burger was dry and the toppings were pretty dire…there weren’t many fries either so pretty poor fare

The others were happy with theirs though….

Chicken pasta for DW

Drive in BBQ burgers for the rest other than MIL who opted for the steak.

Past experience told us that the Sci Fi’s dessert offerings are pretty poor and I surpassed myself by ordering the Lemon Cheesecake which was absolutely gross. One mouthful and I was done. Very sickly and tastless and like eating plasticine….It gave me the dry boak’. (listen to Victor Meldrew... )

DW had the Hot fudge sundae which was like soup as did FIL.

MIL had the Candy bar and DS the Smores brownie and ice cream.

I thought this meal was crap to be honest (Victor again... ), however the others seemed to enjoy theirs.

A good day however apart from this…

[Scotscraig]

After some cereal we headed onto HS. We headed up to Toy Story Land and tried a couple of the pop tarts (one of each flavour) and they were pretty good.

The hazelnut/candy bacon one was better…

We headed to the Trolley Car mid morning and ordered Lattes and some Napoleons (see my previous Food report gushing about these and contains a full guide on how to eat them).

No matter how much care you take eating these, you always end up with some of it on your shorts and this year was no exception.

The boy had a cookie

Mid afternoon we popped by Hollywood Scoops for some ice cream before leaving the park.

We decided to head to the Boardwalk where we filled our juice cups before a comical ride on the Surrey bikes where we were forced to abandon ship half way around the Boardwalk as there was a function on at the Yacht club. This resulted in us pushing it across a flower bed to get back to the road with much laughter…..

Tonight was MK and we had an ADR at the Liberty Tree. This was excellent last year and we hoped it would be as good but sadly the service wasn’t the best and the food wasn’t the hottest and the pot roast a bit fatty.

We were so hungry however and ploughed on when we should have complained and had a fresh plate but this would have meant all the sides being cold by then. The turkey was lovely however.

The server then rushed out the Ooey Gooey Cake which again was almost cold and ice cream melted.

All a bit disappointing really….

Oh and MIL sat on FIL’s trilby hat….It was a beautiful shape after that…..

We then did Happily Ever After again so the evening ended on a happy note!

[Scotscraig]

Muffins for breakfast as the cereal had run out and then onto MK.

We popped into Gastons for a half loaf (with extra frosting).

At lunchtime we opted for Pinochio’s. We chose combos of flatbreads and nuggets. Pretty decent fare.

Mid afternoon we had some snacks – Citrus Swirls for FIL and DW, a dole cup for MIL, a pretzel for DS and a trip to The Plaza for me where I chose an apple pie sundae – which was not good and half of it went in the bin….

We had a rest in the afternoon and headed to Epcot for our last night meal at Teppan Edo. We had some beers on the way and then checked in.

We were sat with a family from Ohio who were pretty chatty and we shot the breeze while the food was served. One topic of the conversation during the meal was the obesity epidemic in the US, as I stuffed three or four more pieces of steak in my mouth...

We started with Pina Coladas which were nice and refreshing.

The salad and noodles/vegetables came next along with those terrific sauces

We all opted for the steak/chicken combo which as always was excellent and the chef was good fun too….

I just lumped my chicken, steak, rice, noodles, in fact the whole thing together with both the sauces bunged on top and it was superb...

Dessert was pleasant –the Mango sponge all round other than DS who had the ice cream.

We have never had a poor meal here, the service is always good, the chef always puts on a show and we have generally been seated with nice people/families who are interesting to talk to. I would highly recommend it.

[Scotscraig]

Sadly, it was going home day.

Muffins for breakfast and then we checked out of SSR.

We used our last 5 CS credits at Blaze Pizza where the pizzas were fantastic. Tons of toppings, very tasty and fresh.

We then burned a number of snack credits at one side of Ghirardellis on ice cream

before spending the remainder of our snack credits on 18 bars of their finest chocolate bars at the other side of the shop.

This needed a degree in Maths to work out and I left this to DW to sort out…..

It was then onto MCO for the journey home via Publix for some sandwiches for the flight

Thank god we did as the food on board the flight was pants as always. The cream cheese roll was the real low point….

Anyway, we have come to the end. Given we have booked an off site trip for 2019 and are thinking of a west coast trip in 2020, this is likely to be our last trip with a dining plan for a while and I for one am quite happy about that.

Don’t get me wrong, the DDP has a lot going for it, convenience, decent enough value for money great food in places, particularly the snacks, good theming etc however we feel it makes the holiday way too structured with little room for any spontaneity and there is way too much food.

We are looking forward to visiting some of our old favourite off site places and try one or two new ones too.

Who knows, I may even do another one of these food trip things again next year.

Anyway thanks for reading folks…….

[Goldia]

It was great reading about everything you ate, even if you did enjoy it all. I think your method for eating a Napolean is brilliant, shame it doesn't work perfectly all the time.

Interesting to read your thoughts about DDP and falling out of love with the food. Have fun on your next adventure. Hopefully you will share some of it with us.

[Scotscraig]

Originally Posted by Goldia

It was great reading about everything you ate, even if you did enjoy it all. I think your method for eating a Napolean is brilliant, shame it doesn't work perfectly all the time.

Interesting to read your thoughts about DDP and falling out of love with the food. Have fun on your next adventure. Hopefully you will share some of it with us.

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Thanks for reading and your comments Abby. My wife thinks I have been a bit too critical in some of my comments and looking at it again, I probably have. I have really enjoyed the dining plan over the past 4 years and we have tried a lot of places we would never have eaten at had it not been for the plan. At least 3 or 4 of the restaurants this year were as good as we have ever been to in terms of quality and the quick service food this year was of a pretty high standard, as were the snacks.

[joanna23]

Your report has been a real treat. Thanks for sharing it and for taking the time to put it all together. I could never do it. Looking forward to next year!

[2019DisneyEvans]

Great report, thank you for sharing

[gjdjud]

Really enjoyed your report.

[summersun]

great report x