8 days of paid for DDP plus the rest, November 2012.

[sha9]

Day 5 was Seaworld. As mentioned I had my Nine Dragons ginger cake for breakfast with strawberry milk. Marie has some donut holes. The timing of the shows meant lunch would probably be after Once Ocean at around 12.30 so just after 11 we stopped for a snack. They had soft serve ice cream in the Shamu's Happy Harbour area so we stopped for some. We were boring and just got vanilla. It was just OK. Not a patch on Dole Whip! We were still eating when it was time to head to the stadium so took it with us. It lasted ages and we couldn't finish.



Last year we really didn't enjoy lunch at Seaworld so I was a little wary. Marie wasn't bothered what we had so we wandered around the Waterfront area and ended up in Voyagers Smokehouse. We'd eaten here before it knew it would be fine. I chose the combo platter which was BBQ spare ribs and smoked chicken with chips and Marie chose the chicken caesar salad. Mine was nice but difficult to eat with a plastic knife and fork and I didn't want to pick it up and eat with my fingers! Marie's caesar salad didn't have any caesar dressing! We think you were supposed to pick it up with the salad separately and when she went back up the queue was huge so she decided just to leave it! I also got some watermelon as I really hadn't had enough fruit & veg!



Dinner was Rainforest Cafe at DTD. I'd really been looking forward to this as we hadn't been for years with it not being on DDP. I'd perused the menu loads of times and on the night decided on the Macadmia Crusted Tilapia and Coconut Shrimp and Marie the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Mine was lovely. I'm not a huge fan of macadamia nuts but even so I really enjoyed my meal. I chose Caribbean rice as my side although I had to prompt our server as he didn't ask which side I wanted! I wonder what I would have ended up with! Marie said her burger was excellent. She actually went on about it for the rest of the holiday and compared every other burger to it! Again we didn't have room for dessert so asked for it to go. Again this limited our options though so we had to have the cheesecake or the Chocolate Diablo Cake. We ended up with the chocolate cake which neither of us ate. It was too heavy and rich and very bitter. Probably warmed up with cream it would have been nicer so I can't really give it a fair report.
As much as I loved RFC I wasn't too impressed with our server. He was a bit cocky and didn't ask if we were on DDP (which you're so used to). I didn't volunteer it and consequently when he brought the bill it was for a cash payment. When I pointed out we had DDP he harumphed a bit and made out like it was our fault and it would take about 15 minutes to sort out "the paperwork" . They're obviously still getting used to DDP but I didn't really like his attitude.


Macadmia crusted tilapia and coconut shrimp


BBQ bacon cheeseburger


Chocolate Diablo cake

[sha9]

Day 6 ended up being a Hollywood Studios day as the F&W festival half-marathon meant we had to avoid AK. It was an EMH day so we thought we'd better take advantage of that and were up early. Breakfast was a mixture of whatever was lying about as we planned on having it after we'd gotten our TSM fast passes! We went to Starring Rolls and paid OOP for a danish pastry and a bagel and a couple of coffees. We felt it was a waste of a snack credit but eyed up the goodies we planned on coming back for later! We both chose a Napolean, Marie also got a tiramisu and I got a butterfinger cupcake!







Since we were having a pool/washing day we had lunch at the Pop food court. I only seem to have a photo of a hot dog but I think I had pizza. Probably because I'd already had it I didn't bother with the photo. We got drinks with our mugs and water for the parks again. Dessert was a danish pastry to have for breakfast the next day.



Dinner was initially intended to be Les Chefs de France however Epcot was so busy that the car park was closed and they were directing you to DHS. We didn't have enough time nor could be be bothered with that idea so we decided to go elsewhere. We knew from experience that Olivia's at OKW was likely to be taking walk-ups so despite already having an ADR planned there in a couple of days we headed there for dinner and used the wi-fi to cancel the Chefs ADR. This is one of the few places that do the pomegranate lemonade (Liberty Tree Tavern also does it) which I love so I chose that for a change from diet coke.



The bread here is pineapple bread and it's lovely. We ate the lot and were offered more but declined so we wouldn't spoil our appetite!



We'd both planned on having the filet steak at Chefs so I was in the mood and chose the New York Strip which is served with Olivia's potatoes. These are basically sliced potato in a creamy, cheesy sauce. The steak was lovely, well cooked and tasty and the potatoes were really nice.



Marie only eats filet steak so decided on the pork chop which was served with a BBQ sauce and macaroni cheese. She enjoyed the pork chop but says the mac & cheese was typical American mac & cheese and not very cheesy.



Marie had had the banana bread pudding before so was determined to have that for dessert. She said it was great as usual.



I had the mascarpone cheesecake which was just OK. It had a "seasonal fruit topping" which turned out to be apple on the side and a toffee sauce. I think it may have been one of those toffees with sea salt though because I kept tasting salt!



I didn't finish my dessert which left me plenty of room for my napolean later!

[sha9]

Because we'd done DHS yesterday instead of AK this became an AK day. Breakfast was the danish pastry we'd gotten for dessert the day before at lunch. This turned out to be a cheese danish even though the centre looks like custard. We both scraped the cheese out as it wasn't very nice. The pastry itself was lovely though.



Lunch was in AK. We normally go to Pizzafari when we're in AK but didn't really fancy it. We ended up at Restaurantosaurus instead, somewhere we hadn't been in years. Marie really has a taste for chilli and they do a chilli cheese dog here. I had a macaroni cheese dog. Both with fries. I had to scrape my mac & cheese off to eat it as it just fell off when I picked the hot dog up anyway! It was an interesting combination but I really ate them seperately anyway. Marie ended up doing the same with her chilli. I like the hot dogs in Disney but the mac & cheese was typical American stuff. They had the pomegranate lemonade here as well so I had that. Dessert was either a cheesecake or chocolate mousse and we both had one of each. Marie didn't like the cheesecake. I had a taste and didn't think much of it either. The chocolate mousse was nice enough.







This was one of the few days we didn't have a dinner ADR booked. With only having DDP for 8 days and having paid for it we didn't want to waste credits on breakfasts and lunches! We decided since we were checking out of Pop the next day this was our last chance to have a walk across to Art of Animation so ended up having dinner here in the food court. Taking full advantage of their interesting menu we both had burgers! I really like Disney burgers though. They are usually nice and juicy and tasty.



We got pastries to have for breakfast the next morning and bottles of water for the park again. I intended to try and manage without drinking too much of my water but in the end I must confess I had a tiny bit of diet coke in my refillable mug . I couldn't bring myself to fill the mug and only had half a cup!

[ROO]

Really enjoying your food report.

[sha9]

Can't believe I forgot about pudding for day 7! We had chosen danish pastries with our CS meal because we still had a couple of snacks from DHS the day before. Marie still had her Napolean and I had my Butterfinger Cupcake.





Although this looks fab I was quite disappointed and didn't finish it. It may have been because it was the day after I bought it but the sponge was dry. The butter icing was nice but a bit too sweet.

[sha9]

Day 8 was our last day of DDP as we were checking out of Pop and into OKW. We decided on MK today. Breakfast was the danish pastries got as desserts the day before at AoA. These were nicer than the cheese danishes we'd had earlier in the holiday. About mid-morning in Tomorrowland we fancied a snack and a drink so decided on a smoothie. I only have a photo of mine which was the strawberry & banana. Marie got the tropical one.



By lunchtime we were round in Adventureland and had one of those moments that confirms why DDP and ADRs are so much better for us! We couldn't decide where to eat. We got the dining app our and I checked the menus for everywhere while we wandered through Frontierland and eventually decided on Columbia Harbour House. We'd been here last year and hadn't been that bowled over but since Marie just fancied chicken nuggets and I wanted something other than a burger it was the best option. I had the fried shrimp platter which was breaded shrimp served with coleslaw and fries, broccoli or apple slices. I chose fries - who wants apple or broccoli with shrimp! You also get the cocktail sauce that they always give you with this kind of seafood dish which I don't really like. Instead I made my own seafood sauce by mixing ketchup with mayonnaise! I really enjoyed my meal and was glad we chose here. The chicken nuggets were standard Disney but adult chicken nuggets are chicken breast and quite tasty. We didn't enjoy the desserts the year before so asked if we could just have cookies so we could take them away. I had mine the next day and it wasn't that great.


Shrimp platter


Chicken breast nuggets


Cookie

Dinner that night was at Olivia's. This was a planned ADR as we were checking in to OKW and wanted to enjoy the resort. We had originally booked for 6.30pm but were ready earlier so chanced it and went early. Needless to say they had a table and this is always a good option if you want a walk-up. I don't have any photos for some reason. It may have been because I had the New York Strip steak again and we both had the Banana Bread Pudding for dessert. Marie had a burger which she didn't enjoy. She felt it was quite tasteless and kept comparing it to the fabulous one she'd had at RFC. My steak was just as nice as it had been a couple of days before. The dessert was nice but too much and we weren't able to finish. Another downside of DDP - we never seem to be able to finish dessert!

[sha9]

Day 9 was our first day without DDP and as we were now in an OKW studio we had bought bagels and cream cheese the day before to have for breakfast during our 3 night stay. We also bought coffee as because we were staying on DVC points we wouldn't get filters left and didn't know if we could ask for them.
We planned this as a Universal Studios day and again managed to get there pretty much for opening. We did everything we wanted very quickly and by 11am we were in IOA next to the Cinnabon shop . Marie had the most excellent idea of getting cinnabon sticks between us to keep us going until lunch.



These were fab! Especially with the frosting to dip them into. I congratulated Marie on her fantastic idea!

When we reached WWOHP we got a butterbeer. We really love these and always like to get one when in IOA but hadn't managed the previous visit. There's always a huge queue at the butterbeer stations however the one just before you leave WWOHP has someone serving at both ends and no-one ever queues at the far away end so we got our very quickly. I always find this very easy to drink as it's not too fizzy.



We decided to have lunch straight away and use our butterbeer rather than buying abother drink. By the time we decided what to have we had reached Marvel Superhero Island so went to Captain America's diner for a burger.



While I ate this I didn't really enjoy it that much. I found the same last year at Mel's Diner in US but thought it may be specific to there but I just need to accept that Universals burgers are tasteless. They don't even taste like they're made from meat! Marie enjoyed hers but again it wasn't a patch on the RFC burger!
As we were leaving we got a cinnabon each which was either going to be dessert or breakfast! We both got the caramel pecanbon.
Dinner that night was from Goods to Go. We'd went to DHS for Fantasmic so it was quite late when we headed back to OKW. We argued about a takeaway from WPE but both agreed we were too tired. Goods to Go has increased it's menu options since we were at OKW the year before and now offers pizza amongst other things. We both decided to try the cheese pizza.



This was nice enough and similar to the one from Everything Pop.

[sha9]

Day 10 was our last full day and we had the segway tour booked at Epcot. This now includes breakfast at Sunshine Seasons but as we knew that would be at least a couple of hours away we had some breakfast in the room. We both decided to eat our cinnabons which we heated up in the microwave (another reason to stay at OKW!).



These were fab! I could have eaten the whole thing but didn't want to spoil my appetite for my free breakfast later! I don't have photos of this as I'd left my camera in my segway pouch but you basically got a choice of a breakfast platter with the usual sausage, bacon, egg, breakfast potatoes and french toast or a "continental breakfast" which was basically a pastry. Marie and I had both chosen the platter which was OK. Typical Disney CS breakfast but at least this one was free!

We had originally planned to walk across to Beaches & Cream for lunch this day but Marie had heard on the news that the new Fantasyland Expansion would be open today so we decided to get the monorail to MK and have lunch there. Needless to say that turned out to be a load of rubbish and again it was just annual pass holders. :angry:.
Marie decided she wanted chilli cheese fries again so we headed over to Cosmic Rays for lunch. We were paying OOP this time so Marie also got a kids chicken nuggets which she forgot came with chips. I couldn't decide between a burger and a hot dog but went for the burger in the end. It was so much nicer than the Universal burger. Nice and juicy and tasting of meat!







Dinner tonight was the Olive Garden. We really love it here and always go at least once a visit, even when on DDP. I didn't take my camera out so no photos I'm afraid. I had the chicken alfredo which is what I always get and Marie chose a four cheese pasta with marinara sauce. As always I really enjoyed it but couldn't finish it. I didn't get a dessert but Marie got a tiramisu to go as it's her favourite.

[sha9]

Day 11 was our last day . I had a bagel for breakfast and Marie had the other half of her cinnabon. We had no ADRs today and no firm plans for food. We went to MK as we always do plus it was morning EMH here. We then headed to AK and by the time we got there were getting hungry so got a jalapeno cream cheese stuffed pretzel. We had split one of these the year before but decided to push the boat out since it was our last day and get one each!



These have jalapeno chopped up into the pretzel mix and are stuffed with cream cheese. Really nice and filling.

Since Marie was still going on about the RFC burger I suggested we try there for a walk-up for lunch. We decided since we were finished at AK anyway to go to DTD so at least if they couldn't take us we could got to WPE. It was going to be a 30 minute wait or we could sit at the bar straight away. We chose the bar as by this time we were starving! The seats are suprisingly comfortable at the bar but it was quite chilly. Marie got the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger again and I got the Rainforest Burger. I asked for only cheese on it forgetting that meant she wouldn't give me the onion ring it came with . Marie was right though, this was a really excellent burger. No photos this time as I was too depressed! I definitely think RFC will be on our list for next trip even without DDP. And probably for a couple of visits as the menu us really varied.

The rest of our food that day was airport or plane food. Tampa airport isn't great choice wise. There was a Chilis and a place that sold flatbreads that were basically pizza. We decided on the pizza which was just ok.
On the flight I decided to choose pasta again after enjoying it on the way out. Marie went for the chicken curry. There wasn't a third choice this time. Marie enjoyed the curry which tasted like chicken tikka masala a bit and was quite mild. I had a taste and really really wished I'd chosen this! The pasta was a kind of cheese ravioli in a tomato sauce and was revolting. We got a little salad with italian dressing and dessert was a piece of carrot cake which was surprisingly nice and moist. Our breakfast prior to landing at Gatwick was a moist fruit loaf thing, a yoghurt drink and what I can only describe as a cereal bar lump. It was tasty enough but just the weirdest shape! Overall the food on BA wouldn't that bad if it hadn't been for the pasta on the return flight. At Gatwick we went for a proper breakfast at Garfunkels opting for bacon and eggs with toast. This was quite nice. On the flight to Edinburgh at lunchtime I expected a sandwich or something but all we got was a drink and the choice of crisps, trail mix or cookies. The so called trail mix was nuts, craisins and chocolate covered raisins. Very disappointing.

Well that's my short dining report. The next trip will be who knows when but I already have a list of places I want to eat at so hopefully there's be another dining report in my future! Thanks for reading.

[OllieT]

Lovely & consise food report, thanks for posting. Enjoying your trippie but have no idea 'who you are' though I have gathered Marie is your sister