14 Days Deluxe Dining Plan - Thoughts and Mini Reviews

[moosha]

We spent two weeks on the deluxe dining plan at Easter 2012 (staying at the Yacht Club) and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the plan and mini reviews of the restaurants we ate at. There were a lot of them, but I didn't make any proper notes so details are few. Some of this has has been cut and pasted from my main trip report

I wish I had made proper food notes and taken food photos, I will definitely do that next time. Hopefully it will still be worthwhile as we visited a lot of Disney restaurants and can share our experience of the deluxe dining plan for anyone considering it. I'm including photos of us as the restaurants as a (poor) substitute for food photos

Cast:
Me, Michelle, 33
DH, Mat, 35
DD1, Seren, almost 6
DD2, Freya, 4



We are all vegetarian (strict about gelatine, rennet etc) but eat fish, we like to eat healthily and the girls are pretty fussy. Seren also has a hayfever-type allergy to cashew nuts, pistachios and hazelnuts. It's not serious but she has been sick after eating those nuts and she gets a rash and swelling around her mouth. We chose the Deluxe Dining Plan because we thought the variety of restaurants would benefit us given our dietary requirements. We wanted to eat at mainly table service restaurants because we felt there would be more choice for us. We also wanted to try some signature restaurants without the huge check at the end, and we decided to use table service meals as both rests from the parks, and a chance to meet the characters at character meals rather than queueing in the parks to meet them

We were really pleased with the plan and are so glad we booked it. We had some great meals and it was so nice to not have to think about the cost of what we were ordering (only the tips.) We were worried about there being way too much food, and obviously if you're eating three x three course meals per day plus two snacks that could be the case, but we usually just had two courses. We never ate or even ordered food just because it was included. I had heard about servers being rude to guests on the dining plan but we never came across that at all, and they didn't try and force extra food on to us that we didn't want just to push up their tips. A few times when we just ordered coffees after a meal, they were put through on the check as desserts so we didn't have to pay for them. Also, a couple of times when we used counter service, they would put through a bottle of water as a dessert so we'd have our meal + soda + water and not have to pay any extra

With snacks, we mostly used them for bottles of water which we were drinking lots of. They're very expensive in the parks although I know you could use the water fountains so it's not necessarily a saving but it benefited us. I also liked the fact that if we were using a snack credit for a soft drink, we could choose regular or large depending on how thirsty we were or whether we were sharing it. There was no way I was going to settle for a regular strawberry punch drink from the Cheshire Cafe at Magic Kingdom though - it had to be large - yum!



We also liked the continental breakfast meals at places like the Beach Club Marketplace and Main Street Bakery. A bagel and Philadelphia + banana + juice suited us perfectly. However, we experienced some inconsistency at the Boardwalk Bakery which was the only place we encountered problems with the dining plan. They wanted to put through the above items all as snacks for each of us rather than meals as they seemed to have different rules on what constituted a meal to the other outlets we visited for breakfast. We didn't want to do that because we knew we'd be coming home with lots of spare meal credits if we didn't use them for breakfast. One morning Mat went by himself to get the breakfast from there and after refusing to put the breakfasts through as meals, the snooty CM insisted that the fruit was too low value to 'waste' on snack credits so charged the four pieces of fruit to our room. My tired, confused DH complained to Guest Services at the hotel and they altered our balance to show the breakfasts as meals rather than snacks which was much more suitable and proof that it could be done. Also at the Boardwalk Bakery they wanted to count the girls' cereal and milk as two separate breakfast items which didn't seem to be a problem anywhere else. When I queried it, the CM said 'lots of people have cereal without milk.' It's a shame we had problems at the BB as the food and coffee there were nicer than elsewhere but we gave up going there in the end as it was too much hassle

I have done the sums to see if we were actually better off on the DxDP than if we had paid OOP. Obviously this is hypothetical as we wouldn't have eaten pretty much three meals a day at Disney restaurants had we not been on the dining plan (we're not lottery winners)

Some of my receipts don't have the prices on so I've had to use AllEars menus for the prices. Therefore a couple of them are rough totals

We generally eat some of the cheaper menu items being and didn't always order three courses as we didn't have the room. It would definitely be possible to come out quite a bit 'ahead' at these prices if you were eating lots of steak and managing three courses each time. My costings below do not take into account all the snacks we 'bought' (redeemed) as I don't have a record of those. On average we were using at least one of our snack credits each day (we had two credits allocated each per day) on a bottle of water ($2.50 I think) soft drink (about $2.79) or something to eat

Edited to correct my totals as I realised I hadn't converted my restaurant totals to pounds and therefore hadn't made a big saving with DDP as I had originally thought. Apologies for my schoolgirl error

Deluxe Dining Plan Costs:

We Paid £686 each for 2 adults
We Paid £266 each for 2 children
Total: £1904.00

7th April - Hurricane Hanna's - $84.00
8th April - Beach Club Marketplace - $24.42
8th April - Akershus - $144.80
8th April - Captain's Grill - $60.50 (+$21.30 extras)
9th April - Kouzzina - $50.40
9th April - Beaches & Cream - $38.71
10th April - Boardwalk Bakery - $28.71
10th April - Yak & Yeti - $99.40
10th April - Jiko - $92.14 (+$39.46 extras)
11th April - Main Street Bakery - $34.27 # # 657.35
11th April - Crystal Palace - $95.81
11th April - Kona Cafe - $86.92 (+$11.18 extras)
12th April - Chef Mickey's - $108.59
12th April - Portobello - #$108.30
12th April - Columbia Harbor House - $14.16
13th April - Starring Rolls - $26.60
13th April - Mama Melrose - $55.14
14th April - Beach Club Marketplace - $24.42
14th April - Columbia Harbor House - $30.74
14th April - Wolfgang Puck Cafe - $109.74
15th April - Beach Club Marketplace - $24.42
15th April - Narcoossee's - $171.25. # # 1513.44
16th April - Ohana - $70.25
16th April - Chefs De France - $100.01 (+$6.39 extras)
16th April - UK Fish & Chips $27.54
17th April - Cheshire Cafe - $33.58
17th April - Cinderella's Royal Table - $159.00
17th April - Raglan Road - $101.34
18th April - Beach Club Marketplace - $24.42
18th April - Grand Floridian Cafe - $86.20
18th April - California Grill - $194.66 (+$25.56 extras)
19th April - pastries for breakfast from TTC kiosk $18.95
19th April - Yacht Club room service - $56.99
20th April - Cape May Cafe - $86
20th April - Restaurantosaurus - $37.53
20th April - Flying Fish Cafe - $149.96 (+$17.04 extras)

Total we would have spent on meals (approx.) not including the extras or snacks: $2659.87 or just over £1700.00

I would anticipate that we pretty much broke even when also taking into account the snack credits we used. We had some very good meals and got to try out so many restaurants that we wouldn't have been able to afford to eat at if we were paying OOP. We had only one bad meal (Wolfgang Puck Cafe, and even that wasn't awful, it was only my entree that wasn't very nice), a couple of dodgy servers but mostly the food and service were excellent. I would eat at all of the restaurants we visited again in the future, with the exception of Wolfgang Puck Cafe

Mini Restaurant Reviews:

Day 1 - Arrival Dinner - Hurricane Hanna's (Pool Bar at Yacht Club)

We grabbed a bite from here when we finally arrived at the hotel at about 8.30 pm as it was the closest quick service place to our room. The girls just has fries as there was nothing vegetarian or fish for kids, and DH and I both had grilled veggie wraps and fries with diet cokes. The vegetables in the wraps were really nice, but there was too much wrap and not enough veggies, and they had obviously been in the fridge for a while as they were freezing. It would have been much tastier warm. The fries were our first taste of US or Disney fries for years so we were hit by how salty they are. The girls only had a few because of that, despite how hungry we all were. Still, it filled a hole and we really liked the surroundings. It was our first experience of the Boardwalk, which I think is more beautiful at night. It was all lit up beautifully, there was a great atmosphere and we enjoyed watching people playing in Stormalong Bay and a family of ducklings and their mother also using the pool!

Please excuse shocking photo - it's the only one I have



Day 2 - Breakfast - Beach Club Marketplace

We all had a pastry / bagel + banana + juice. My cinnamon roll was tasty but a little dry, must have been left over from the day before. Everyone else enjoyed their breakfast. The BCM was a good place to grab a quick breakfast, quite a lot of choice, but it got a bit manic in there in the mornings. Also, not a lot of seating. There were a few covered outdoor tables opposite, and there was also the solarium which was a little indoor lounge, and never had any space on the three or so mornings we ate there

Day 2 - Lunch - Princess Storybook Dining, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, Norway, EPCOT

We arrived about 10 minutes before our 12 pm ADR and there were already quite a few families waiting. It was our first ADR experience, and once we'd checked in and moved into the outdoor waiting area, I was expecting a bit of a wait, but we were called very quickly, probably a couple of minutes before 12. The girls had a photo taken with Belle before we were seated, and an 10 x 8 print was included and delivered during the meal. Our server was a very nice Norwegian lady who explained the meal was buffet style for appetizers, from a menu for entrees, and dessert would be served family style (although not for the children.) I liked the mix of service styles, and I was also impressed with the buffet which had breads, salads, fish, cheeses and meats, mostly Norwegian dishes. I filled my plate with salads and smoked fish and it was all very tasty. For my entree, I had the lump crab cake with celeriac remoulade. It was ok, not very much actual crab meat in the crab cake, and it was very salty. I couldn't tell whether it was the crab cake, the celeriac or the dressing (probably all three) that was salty. The desserts were nice, we were given a plate with three small desserts for the adults to share, and the girls had their own individual dessert



The character interaction at Akershus was good. The girls met Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Ariel and didn't have to wait long. Then there was a Princess Parade for all the children with the princesses. The girls left feeling very happy and we were impressed. The food was above average, the character element was very good, and it was only one table service credit per person including the photo, so we felt it was very good value. We were to have lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table the following week, and having done both I would say the food is much better at Akershus, value for money is better at Akershus, but obviously the castle has the 'wow' factor. Akershus is a very pretty restaurant too, but for us the character interaction was better at CRT

Day 2 - Dinner - Captain's Grille, Yacht Club

We had changed this ADR from the Yachtsman Steakhouse to Captain's Grille because of a few dodgy YS reviews and a couple of good ones for CG. For non-meat eaters, the YC menu choice was limited (which I guess is fair enough for a steak restaurant) and I'd heard good things about Captain's Grille from the Dibb. We waited a couple of minutes, but we were a few minutes early so were seated at pretty much the exact time of our ADR. Our server was a very warm and friendly lady who arranged for the chef to come out and speak to us straight away about Seren's allergy (she has a hayfever-type allergy to cashew nuts, hazelnuts and pistachios.) He was really helpful and accommodating and spoke to us about our options as vegetarians too. He spoke very knowledgeably and warmly about the dishes and it gave us a very good impression of the restaurant. Mat and I both had a cocktail (mine was a glow cube one and it was yummy.) The girls didn't fancy their starter options and Mat had gone to town on the appetiser buffet at Akershus so it was just me having a starter. I chose the Lump Crab Cake (my second fishcake of the day!) and this one was the better of the two as it was much less salty and contained much more fish

For entrees, Mat had Eggplant and Tomato Tart which he enjoyed, I had Chef's Pasta Creation which was a shrimp and pesto fusilli with cherry tomatoes and pine nuts which was tasty but the pasta was a bit disappointing. It was either too al dente or had been microwaved as it was a bit hard. Freya had fish with fries which she managed to make a good dent in considering she was half asleep. Seren had a pizza which she didn't like (she's a fussy madam.) The girls had some ice cream, no desserts for the grown-ups as we were all so tired and just wanted to get into bed

Again, apologies - this is the only photo I have from Captain's Grille

[moosha]

Day 3 - Breakfast - Kouzzina, Boardwalk



We checked in a couple of minutes before our 7.30 ADR and were seated pretty much straight away... the first party in the restaurant. Although a few other families did come in while we were having our breakfast, it was pretty quiet. Our server called out the chef straight away to speak to us about Seren's allergy. He was really friendly and helpful, definitely one of the most accommodating chefs we saw, along with the guy at Captain's Grille. I was starting to think all Disney chefs were great and I have to say, of the ones we met, this impression was only challenged on a couple of occasions. Generally, no request was a problem and they were always eager to satisfy us. Rather than run through a list of menu choices that Seren could eat, the chefs tended to ask what she was considering choosing, and then confirming whether or not it was suitable for her. On this occasion neither of the girls were particularly keen on anything on the menu. I had anticipated that, but we decided that the adult choices were so yummy and we weren't going to miss out, so the girls could always have a snack later on. For once, the grown-ups were in charge. Seren decided on a pancake which when it arrived was bigger than her but was thankfully served with some fruit. Freya just had a fresh fruit plate

I knew what I was going to order from the menu before we even arrived - the Stacked Kouzzina Breakfast which I had seen in a food trippie on the Dibb, and was the reason I had made this ADR. Two poached eggs, kalamata olive toast, artichoke dip and sweet potato hash. Mat had the spinach, tomato and feta scrambled eggs with breakfast potatoes. Both of our breakfasts were supposed to come with some kind of sausage or bacon or something. We asked for them without the meat, and I don't remember having a conversation with the server or chef about substituting something else for the meat, but my breakfast was served with a lovely bowl of fruit, and Mat's with a croissant (which Freya ate most of.) The Kouzzina staff were possibly telepathic because the croissant and fruit respectively were exactly the accompaniments my husband and I would have requested if we'd had the chance but I'm pretty sure we didn't

Anyway, the main event was delicious. The best breakfast I have ever ordered, in no small part because the dish was right up my street. Our Kouzzina experience was topped off with another visit from the chef to check we were enjoying our meal, and to give the children a nut / dairy free chocolate bar as a snack for later, which was very sweet of him. Kouzzina was a lovely relaxed start to the day. We really liked the restaurant despite the fact, or perhaps because, it was so quiet. We would definitely go back for breakfast, and I'd like to try it for dinner too

Day 3 lunch was at Sea World

Day 3 - Dinner - Beaches & Cream, Beach Club



Beaches & Cream had been in the plan to try at some point during the holiday, so when we got back from Sea World with no ADRs, we thought we'd wander along and see how busy it was. I think they said the wait would be about 20 - 30 minutes and that they had space at the counter becoming free. It turned out to only take 10 minutes for the stools at the counter to become available. We really liked the kitsch feel of the place and we were happy that we got to sit at the counter as that really added to the experience. Two or three of the servers chatted to us frequently throughout our meal, and we really enjoyed the friendly atmosphere. Before we had even ordered, the first of three Kitchen Sinks consumed while we were there (not by us) was brought out to a very embarrassed family. I'm glad I had known about the Kitchen Sinks from the Dibb. The rest of my family didn't have a clue what was going on and the girls were a bit perturbed by the siren and dimming of the lights

There weren't any vegetarian or fish options on the children's menu so the girls just had fries, but they were perfectly happy about that. Mat and I had the vegetable burger and fries, and we also had a side order included as part of the deluxe dining plan. We both chose some rather tasty onion rings. I think we got the side dish included because their menu didn't offer any appetisers. The food was pleasant enough, the onion rings being my favourite part. We don't really eat a lot of fast food and struggled to finish it all, but it was nice as a treat. We were all really tired so didn't try and prolong our visit to Beaches & Cream by ordering any desserts

Day 4 - Breakfast - Boardwalk Bakery, Boardwalk

Today we were adamant we would have breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery, having not had enough time previously in the mornings. The CMs behind the counter were what I would call efficient bordering on brusque, and the lady at the till was a bit snotty about the dining plan. I think this was because it slowed things down and they were very busy. We had chosen the same things we would have picked at Beach Club Marketplace which for the girls was cereal with a carton of milk, a piece of fruit and a drink. The CM wanted to put through the milk for the cereal as an extra snack and wouldn't include it in the meal. This was the only place we found this to be the case. When I challenged that the milk wasn't included, the lady's response was 'a lot of people eat cereal without milk' which, in the tone she used, annoyed me and seemed strange

Anyway, I had an apple Danish which was delicious, Mat had a bagel and we all had juice and bananas. Mat and I also had a coffee, we used snack credits for those and they were the nicest coffees we'd had so far. The CM told us that we could bring our resort refillable mugs for free coffee which we didn't expect as we thought it would just be at the Yacht / Beach Club. Using the refillable mugs at the Boardwalk Bakery would have been a bonus, but we didn't actually make it back there again during the holiday despite agreeing it was the nicest counter service breakfast we had. It was lovely to sit at one of the tables overlooking the lake and enjoy our breakfast. The breakfasts we had at Beach Club Marketplace were convenient and efficient enough, but if (when) we go back to the Yacht Club I would definitely make the effort to visit the Boardwalk Bakery more often as it was a far more pleasant experience overall

Day 4 - Lunch - Yak & Yeti, Animal Kingdom

We had a 12 pm ADR at Yak & Yeti. We had a pretty negative experience there overall, but the food was good and we would return. Part of the reason I felt quite negative about it was because we were having a bit of a stressful day, and the girls were messing around and didn't eat much. But we also encountered one of our worst servers of the holiday, and the chef was not overly accommodating to our requests. Mat and I had both been looking forward to Yak & Yeti as the menu really suited us. We had a nice table by the window and were able to watch some street shows so the setting was great

What we hadn't banked on was our really dodgy server. He was disinterested, spoke too fast and just seemed to be constantly reeling off a pre-prepared speech and not really paying any attention to us. He barely even looked at us when he was speaking to us. This was the first (and one of the only) occasions that we had to raise the issue of Seren's allergy despite it being noted on every ADR, as the server hadn't noticed. He sent the chef out to speak with us and we discussed Seren's allergy. The only item on the kids' menu that was vegetarian was vegetable lo mein. The egg roll had pork in, and there was also a burger or hot dog. We told the chef that she doesn't like noodles, and asked if she could have something other than the lo mein as the menu was very limited for children who don't eat meat. The chef was stood next to our server and it was a very awkward situation with long pauses in the conversation. In the end I found myself asking if Seren could just have some fries. It felt like I was begging and it was like getting blood out of a stone trying to get her some fries. Fries aren't going to cost them anything and we had seen children at the next table (with a different server) being brought a plate of fries with ketchup, no problems. It was not exactly very Disney and really raised the tension. In the event Seren didn't really eat much from her 'fries mountain' (we were still finding the fries too salty.) Freya enjoyed her vegetable lo mein with a side of rice, but she didn't eat a lot of it. I think it was quite a big portion

Despite the rubbish service, I really enjoyed my food at Yak & Yeti. I had the wok fried green beans to start which were delicious (my joint favourite starter of the holiday up there with the salad I had later that day at Jiko.) I love an onion ring or a deep fried prawn but these were even better as the texture was nicer and they felt healthier (despite being fried.) I gobbled them up but I may have reluctantly allowed my wonderful husband of ten years to experience the joy of sampling just one as I am such a loving wife. My entree was miso salmon with jasmine rice and stir fried vegetables which I enjoyed and it was tasty but I think I was partly just happy to be eating something healthy after a lot of fast food over the previous few days. Mat had vegetable lo mein with tofu, which he really enjoyed. I can't recall what anyone else had for dessert but I had mango, lemon and raspberry sorbet which was lovely

Day 4 - Dinner - Jiko, Animal Kingdom Lodge

We had a lot of very good meals at Disney World, but if I was really pushed I would say Jiko was my favourite. It was our first Signature restaurant and we weren't really sure what to expect. We were hoping it wouldn't be snooty and that the quality of the cooking would exceed our expectations. We weren't disappointed on either count. Our ADR was at 6, we were a little early and were seated in the bar area for a few minutes. When we were taken through to the restaurant, we were very happy with our quiet table and our server, Omar, was great. He was my favourite server of all the restaurants we ate in as he was the perfect balance between extremely friendly and professional. He was very knowledgeable and passionate about the menu and excellent with the girls

Seren's allergy was handled very efficiently. At Signature restaurants, the servers dealt with allergies themselves as they were knowledgeable enough and would simply check with the chefs if necessary. This was reassuring as it gave a very professional impression. Seren chose fruit salad to start, followed by pizza and then vanilla ice-cream. Freya had carrot and celery sticks with peanut butter, market fish and then the ice-cream. Mat and I both enjoyed the breads at the beginning. I didn't make a note of what they were but they were served with a spiced butter which was so yummy. Mat's appetiser was the Taste Of Africa (poppadums, naan and another bread with a selection of dips) which he really enjoyed and I had the Jiko Salad which, as it's seasonal, had different ingredients to the current menu but definitely had peaches in and was delicious. Mat's entree was a very yummy shrimp curry. I had Bunny Chow and Falafel Durban Curry Vegetables which was one of the most tasty meals I have ever had and was perfect for me: falafel, naan bread, mango ketchup, Harissa mustard, wilted greens, yoghurt and olive tapenade. It's making my mouth water just listing those ingredients. In my notes it says I had a dessert but I can't remember what it was and it's not on the receipt so maybe I didn't. I remember Mat had a coffee instead and Omar put it through as a dessert so we didn't have to pay for it. To drink, Mat had a virgin strawberry daiquiri as he was driving and I had a Sunriser cocktail which was yummy

We left Jiko feeling uncomfortably full but extremely happy (despite being on the deluxe plan, we didn't overeat and this was one of very few occasions that we left a restaurant stuffed. The food was just too delicious to leave any.) We had chosen the perfect Signature restaurant to try out the Signatures. Jiko is smart but relaxed and the food was very impressive. It set the bar very high for the other Signatures and although the ones we visited were all very good, Jiko and California Grill ended up being the best for us

[dixonsontour]

Great start

We tried deluxe for the first time in October - DD age 6 had lots of great options at the signatures plus the chance for lots of character meals - worked well for us.

I can fully understand your reasons for going for it with your dd's allergy and being pescatarian.

[moosha]

Originally Posted by dixonsontour

Great start

We tried deluxe for the first time in October - DD age 6 had lots of great options at the signatures plus the chance for lots of character meals - worked well for us.

I can fully understand your reasons for going for it with your dd's allergy and being pescatarian.

See more...

Thanks for reading. Glad you had a good experience on the deluxe plan too. We will definitely be using DxDP again on our next trip, we were such big fans

[Seaworldfan]

Great read so far, cant wait to see the rest

[moosha]

Day 5 - Breakfast - Main Street Bakery, Magic Kingdom

Main Street Bakery for breakfast on our first MK day had been the plan all along as Mat and I had enjoyed the odd bagel and pastry there eleven years before. Unfortunately, the exterior was being renovated and so it had those hoardings with photos of the building on around it. This meant we couldn't sit outside as we had hoped and also made the restaurant seem too dark. It was busy, and with all the faffing involved with choosing breakfasts, queuing and paying with the dining plan, and then sitting down and consuming our purchases, just about all of the 'Magic' hour had gone by the time we were finished. What was included as a breakfast meal on the dining plan was the same as at the Beach Club so luckily that was nice and straightforward. I had a cinnamon roll which wasn't as nice as I thought it would be as it was way too big and too sweet (too much icing)

Day 5 - Lunch - Crystal Palace, Magic Kingdom



Our ADR was at 11.45. When we got there it seemed half of Magic Kingdom had the same lunch plans as the check-in area outside was rammed. They were very organised and we were called at about 11.50 in the end

We were really impressed with the Crystal Palace. When we walked in, there were only a few families already in there as it was the very beginning of lunch service. We loved the beautiful Winnie The Pooh topiaries inside, and how light and airy the restaurant was. We had a great server, Karen, who kept us updated as to when the characters would be coming to us so that we didn't miss any. The characters all came over to us quite close together so luckily we weren't waiting around to meet any of them when we were all fed and ready to go. We didn't have any complaints about the interaction with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore or Tigger

The buffet line moved quite slowly, particularly at the kids' station. The girls ate pasta, bread, salmon, salad, fruit, rice... a good selection even for my fussy pescatarians

I was pleasantly surprised by the food at Crystal Palace. I didn't make a note of what I ate and it's too long ago to remember properly but I remember a nice pasta dish, a ratatouille type thing with aubergines and a nice rice dish, as well as some tasty salmon. The bread was lovely, and so were the children's potato wedges

I also really enjoyed the mini puddings which were all yummy, especially the mini key lime pie. Our check was brought over while we were still eating, and Karen assured us that there was no rush to settle it. I appreciated not having to wait for it, and having paid by the time we were ready to get up and leave

Day 5 - Dinner - Kona Cafe, Polynesian Resort

We had to wait five or ten minutes after our 7.30 ADR which was the longest we had to wait at any Disney restaurant. Kona was nothing special to look at, I think I actually felt a little disappointed when I saw the restaurant, but I liked the way it was open onto the upstairs mezzanine thingy of the hotel. I also liked that they had a dessert table with a sample of all the desserts and a massive carving of Lilo and Stitch which didn't look like it could possibly be made of chocolate but was



I had a glow cube cocktail which was very yummy, and the girls were excited that their juice came with cocktail umbrellas





Our server was efficient and friendly but a bit too 'New York' to convincingly pull off Polynesian Disney theming. He spoke too fast and wasn't very clear on Seren's allergy. I must admit that being slightly underwhelmed by the appearance of the restaurant meant I had negative preconceptions about the food, but I was proven wrong

Seren and Freya had fish of the day and substituted the rice for fries. I had Fried Rock Shrimp with Passion Fruit-Mustard Sauce to start which was very yummy (especially the sauce.) For my entree, I had Sustainable Fish which was grouper with Forbidden Rice which was very good too. Mat had some kind of chicken pasta and substituted the chicken for either shrimp or tofu (can't remember which.) For dessert I had chocolate fondue with fruit which was delicious. Mat had a decaf coffee. The girls loved their 'build-your-own-sundae' desserts





Kona was one of very few meals where we were left waiting for our check and waiting to pay. Once we're all done, I just want to be out of the restaurant but unfortunately the service slowed down towards the end of our meal

Day 6 - Breakfast - Chef Mickey, Contemporary Resort

I would definitely recommend Chef Mickey for breakfast. Our server was good, the coffee was much better than most Disney coffee, and the buffet was great. I don't really eat cooked breakfast but there was so much choice of 'other stuff', I went away very satisfied. There were lots of lovely pastries, cereal, breads, platters of fruit and yoghurt and we all ate really well

The character interaction was excellent, definitely among the best we encountered at a character meal. The girls met Mickey (there was a loud gasp and cheer from the dining area when he entered the room), then Donald, Goofy (who was very funny), Minnie and then Pluto. A must do on our next trip





Day 6 - Lunch - Portobello, Downtown Disney

Portobello isn't a restaurant that seems to come up on the Dibb very often, maybe it just goes under the radar. We went there in 2001 the night before we got married with my family as a pre-wedding celebration and it had been lovely. We'd eaten some really good pasta, the service had been spot on and they had served us some yummy slow-roasted garlic cloves that spread onto very tasty bread which has stuck in my mind ever since

Today we were booked in for a very late lunch and it was very quiet. The food was excellent. The bread was delicious, and again we had the slow-roasted garlic to spread on it (luckily we were all only breathing over each other for the rest of the day.) I had an appetizer of Sicilian eggplant fries as I love aubergines. They were very yummy but I couldn't finish them as they were pretty greasy. Mat had a portobello mushroom for his appetiser. For entrees, we both had black linguine with shrimp that was delicious, and the girls were very pleased with their penne and tomato sauce. The girls had ice cream, I had a white chocolate custard which was very nice, and Mat just had a latte (put through as a dessert on the check)

Day 6 - Dinner - Columbia Harbor House, Magic Kingdom

When doing my months of planning, I hadn't taken much notice of counter service restaurants in the parks because we were all ADRd up on the deluxe plan. I had made a note of a couple though, in case our plans did change as they had today. Pretty much the only one I had down for MK was Columbia Harbor House as it had pretty good reviews from the Unofficial Guide and I knew it sold fish and chips

It must have been about 8.15 by the time we had walked to the restaurant. Liberty Square was still busy, but it felt like the restaurant was closing up (I think it stopped serving at 9pm.) Mat and I just had (salty) fries, and the girls shared a kid's meal (tuna sandwich) and a portion of (salty) fries. It was all fine

[moosha]

Day 7 - Breakfast - Starring Rolls, Disney Hollywood Studios

(Picture borrowed from google)


There was a really good choice of bagels, pastries etc and this was one of my favourite counter service breakfasts we had. Mat and I shared an Everything Bagel with Philadelphia and a big apple Danish. Yum. The girls had muffins or cereal and we all had bananas. We sat outside to eat and we all enjoyed it. The only bad thing was the coffee, but we'll gloss over that and move swiftly on

Day 7 - Lunch - Mama Melrose, Disney Hollywood Studios

This was actually lunch / dinner as our ADR was at 3.55 pm. We had to wait a few minutes but we were a tiny bit early. I really liked the rustic Italian theming at Mama Melrose and enjoyed the overall experience. I found the server to be a bit lacklustre (this is Disney after all.) She was just a bit quiet and meek and not particularly enthusiastic. I enjoyed my Caesar salad appetiser, and the fresh bread rolls with olive oil and black pepper. The flatbread pizza I had for my entree was too cheesy for me and I didn't enjoy it. Mat liked it, and I think it was just me and my anti-cheese taste buds. Mat had minestrone soup to start which he said was pretty good. The girls had pasta with tomato sauce which is usually a safe bet, but they didn't enjoy it here. I'm not sure if the sauce was too herby or peppery, or if they just weren't in the mood for it. They each had a spaghetti and meatballs cupcake for dessert which they picked at. We ended up eating them as they were nicer than our own shared dessert plate of a nutty cheesecake and some kind of chocolatey thing (I know, I should be a food critic with my descriptions.) Our overall experience of Mama Melrose was that we didn't eat that well, but we liked the restaurant and I would go back as I think we just made bad menu choices and were having an off day

Day 8 - Breakfast - Beach Club Marketplace

This morning's breakfast was just about a quick fuel stop so we could make the most of our extra morning hour at Magic Kingdom. We decided the quickest option would be to grab breakfast at Beach Club Marketplace. We had pretty much what we had each time we went here. Today we mixed things up by packing the bananas in the bag for later and sitting down to eat our cereal (the girls) and bagels (the adults.) I had gone off the pastries for breakfast and was now hitting the bagels with Philadelphia each day. I thought it would be better theme park fuel, and the bagels were very tasty

Day 8 - Lunch - Columbia Harbor House, Magic Kingdom

We enjoyed our lunch at Columbia Harbor House. It was busy, but we managed to grab a table and didn't have to wait too long. Mat and I both had fried shrimp and fries which we enjoyed, the girls had fries. We were becoming immune to the salty fries now and didn't notice how salty they were. CHH is a good counter service choice at MK and it will be on the list for future trips

Day 8 - Dinner - Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Downtown Disney

Wolfgang Puck was a big disappointment for me. Mat enjoyed it a bit more than I did, and I think part of my problem was that we were seated in the front section which was almost like a conservatory. With the neon lights outside, along with the garish decor, I felt like we were in McDonalds. We had to move tables because the first one was wobbly. I should add that I was having contact lens problems and my eyes were really bothering me, so I wasn't in the best frame of mind. My meal was disappointing (I had something like salmon with borlotti beans which just seemed an odd combination) and the service was slow. It was one of those meals where I just wanted to be out of the place, but it took ages to get the check and settle it

Day 9 - Breakfast - Boardwalk Bakery, The Boardwalk

This must have been the morning that Mat went alone to Boardwalk Bakery and brought back bagels, cereal, fruit, juice and coffee for us to eat in the room. As mentioned above, the CM did not put these through as meals which was very frustrating. Issues with redeeming credits aside, the breakfast was very tasty

Day 9 lunch was at Busch Gardens

Day 9 - Dinner - Narcoossee's, Grand Floridian

We were seated pretty much straight away at Narcoossee's, as we had arrived pretty much right on time for our ADR. Our server was Tom, who was one of the best servers we had during our holiday. It transpired during our meal while we were chatting with him that he is a distant relative of Mat's. They are both descendants of the MacLeod clan from the Isle of Skye

We had a lovely meal. Tom was brilliant with the girls, treating them like proper little people which encouraged them to behave really well and eat all of their meal. Tom didn't bring out the chef or even go and speak to him about Seren's allergy because he just knew what she could and couldn't have. He was so knowledgeable, professional and friendly

We did have a minor mishap with the menu when our appetisers arrived. I had ordered lump crab cakes with Florida citrus, Creole-style remoulade and blood orange oil. They were very good, the best crab cakes I had during the holiday. Mat had ordered Creamy Lobster Corn Bisque with poached lobster, sweetcorn and lobster coral. When it arrived, Tom presented it and announced the ingredients which included bacon. The menu hadn't mentioned bacon so Mat told Tom he's vegetarian and didn't realise there was meat in the dish. Tom proved how excellent he is at his job by apologising and politely blaming himself for not informing Mat that there was bacon in the soup when he ordered it. We hadn't told him we were vegetarian, so there had been no particular reason for him to have mentioned it. The problem was with the menu which definitely should have listed bacon in the description of the dish. Anyway, Tom quickly and very apologetically whisked away the offending soup with no fuss, and offered to bring something else. Mat settled for the crab cakes and they arrived very shortly after. The girls had lovely fresh fruit salads for their starters and were very pleased with them

For our entrees, I had Seared Wild Madeira Beach Black Grouper with stir fried vegetables, baby bok choi, water chestnuts, sticky rice and fragrant ginger-soy hijiki broth which was very nice. Mat had a piece of tuna which he said was very good. Seren had tomato pasta and Freya had a piece of fish, I think with rice and vegetables. For dessert, I had mango sorbet with pineapple, melon and berries and it was delicious. The fruit was perfectly ripe and so tasty. I had to keep batting Seren's hand away from my plate to defend my melon and berries. Mat had an almond cheesecake which he was very impressed with. The girls hadn't wanted the sickening brownie sundae, s'mores or cupcake from the children's menu, and so if my memory serves me correctly, I think they just asked for vanilla ice cream, which of course was no problem. I also had a glass of wine at Narcoossee's as opposed to my usual cocktail with dinner. I think it was something Californian and red, and it went down very well. We would definitely recommend Narcoossee's (especially if on the deluxe dining plan) and after such a lovely night, we will return

Day 10 - Breakfast - Lilo & Stitch's Best Friends Breakfast, Ohana, Polynesian Resort



We arrived a few minutes early, but there were already a few families checking in. 7.30 was the earliest slot, so the CMs were just getting everything ready. We checked in and were all given lei necklaces. At 7.30 (ish) some kind of welcoming speech was made and a song was played and then the servers started calling each family in to the restaurant. We had a good spot near the window, but the restaurant was freezing cold. People were mentioning the extreme temperature to the CMs and I think by the end of our breakfast, we had started to thaw out a bit

Our waitress was a bit slow on the uptake unfortunately. When she came to pour the tropical breakfast juice for us, there was only enough in the jug for two glasses so she went to get some more. She never came back to fill the rest of the glasses, but since the girls didn't like the juice, we didn't bother to chase her up on it. She also didn't bring us any bread, even though she was delivering it to all of her other tables, so we had to ask for it. It was coconut and pineapple and it was very tasty but sweet bread is not really my thing. The service was slow, but eventually our fruit arrived which went down well

Our main platter arrived, and as we're vegetarian we were given extra scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes (which were actually potato wedges and were somehow a bit too salty and sweet) and I've written biscuits in my notes, which may or may not have been the third thing on the plate. I only ate the scrambled eggs and wedges

The girls met Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto and then all the children borrowed maracas and the characters led the children around the restaurant for a parade

Day 10 - Lunch - Les Chefs De France, World Showcase, Epcot



This was another of my favourite meals. We checked in just before 1pm. The restaurant was very busy and I thought we were going to have to wait, but as usual, we were seated after only a minute or two. We were sat right in the middle of the restaurant and it was very noisy. All of us enjoyed our lunch at Les Chefs, the menu was varied and good for vegetarians which we were surprised about (unusual for a French restaurant)

While we were enjoying our food, we were treated to a visit from Remy and the very funny Maitre'D that accompanied him. The first time he came to see us, they were a bit overwhelmed. We were lucky enough to get a second visit from him. The second time, the girls were much more into it and wanted to have their photo taken with him

I had the house salad which was very nice, followed by vegetable lasagne which I enjoyed although it needed just a bit more flavour (although my taste buds are shot because I eat so much spicy food, anything remotely mild in flavour tastes bland to me.) Mat had a goat's cheese salad and then a cheesy macaroni. I had a delicious creme brûlée for dessert, and Mat had sorbet. We both treated ourselves to a glass of merlot as we would be walking back to the Yacht Club later. The girls had flounder and French fries followed by ice cream for Seren and a chocolate chip cookie for Freya. Overall, Les Chefs De France was a big success and we will definitely return

Day 10 - Dinner - UK Fish & Chips kiosk, World Showcase, Epcot

We had nothing booked for dinner after a table service breakfast and lunch today, but were feeling a bit peckish by the end of a long afternoon at Epcot. We decided to get some fish and chips from the kiosk by the Rose and Crown. We sat on the kerb by the kiosk and ate them. The fish and chips went down well, not as good as at home, but still nice. For some reason the girls only had a sugar cookie. I think they were perhaps too tired or still too full from lunch, but they enjoyed their cookies too

[moosha]

Originally Posted by Seaworldfan

Great read so far, cant wait to see the rest

See more...

Thank you, just about to upload the last part

[moosha]

Day 11 - Breakfast - Cheshire Cafe, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom

We grabbed a quick breakfast from the little kiosk by the teacups in Fantasyland this morning. This was a bit of a mistake, as the choice of cereals was not as varied as the Beach Club Marketplace, and they didn't have any pastries, only muffins of the individually pre-packaged variety which were not very nice. We weren't too bothered though as we just needed to fill a hole before getting on with an exciting day

Day 11 - Lunch - Cinderella's Royal Table, Magic Kingdom

There were a lot of people checking in outside CRT and it was a bit of a bunfight but soon enough the doors were opened for those of us with a 12pm ADR. The girls had a photo with Cinderella inside, the interior of the castle was beautiful and I would have loved to spent longer looking around, but we had to head upstairs for lunch. This was the view from our table by the window





Our server Kevin was pretty much the exact opposite of what you would have expected from a server at Cinderella's Royal Table - very dry witted, sarcastic and laid-back. He was actually a breath of fresh air and made us laugh and feel very relaxed. He took us through the limited menu options and was particularly scathing about the vegetarian entree on the menu which I seem to recall was a bean casserole. He said something along the lines of how it was truly awful and you'd need to be crazy to order it, which Mat then did. Kevin's response was along the lines of 'don't say I didn't warn you how terrible that thing is,' None of the food was amazing at CRT but Mat said the casserole was in fact edible

I also really liked the blue goblets they give you to drink out of, and Kevin calling us 'My Lord' and 'My Lady' was great, it all added to the experience. My meal was fine, the adults had soup to start and the children had fruit. For my entree I had something fishy, possibly a salad or a piece of fish but unfortunately I don't have any record of what we ate. I had gone into CRT not expecting very much from the actual meal because we all know that eating here is about the experience rather than the food. The quality and content of the food was actually better than I had anticipated but the portions were very small, the food was cold and it did feel like a 'conveyor belt' particularly with the appetisers, which were brought out pretty much as soon as we sat down, and I'm sure I recall seeing a big trolley of bowls of the soup in the dining area, ready to be handed out by the servers as quickly as possible which I wasn't impressed with

The girls met Snow White, Aurora, Ariel and Belle (in her blue dress) and were very happy. We didn't feel rushed, but being one of the first parties seated, we had settled the check by the time the girls had met all the Princesses and had the wishing star ceremony, so we were able to leave as soon as we were ready

Day 11 - Dinner - Raglan Road, Downtown Disney

We are big live music lovers and had booked our ADR to coincide with the live music. Although Freya was a bit overwhelmed by how loud the music was, Seren loved it, especially as we were seated right down by the stage. The band was two guys with their guitars and on a couple of songs they were joined by two girls dancing on the stage and a separate podium.

We had all been looking forward to some traditional pub grub and we weren't disappointed. Mat and I both had smoked salmon with capers, creme fraiche and dill to start which was very good. For entrees, Mat had a portobello mushroom burger with fries. I had fish and chips which again wasn't as good as at home but I enjoyed it. We also ordered a side of garden peas as we were missing our green veg, and these went down well. It would have been rude to refuse the Baileys creme brûlée (yum) and I also enjoyed two Berry Blueberry Martinis

Day 12 - Breakfast - Beach Club Marketplace

Again we had our usual and were perfectly happy with it

Day 12 - Lunch - Grand Floridian Cafe, Grand Floridian





We had a 12 pm ADR at the Grand Floridian Cafe. I was really looking forward to this one as I'd read a couple of very good reviews on the Dibb and on arrival we were impressed with how beautiful the restaurant was. We were seated by the window and loved the look and feel of the place. Unfortunately we didn't have a great lunch here. When discussing the menu with our server before ordering, and asking questions about a specific dish one of us was interested in, we told her we ate fish but not meat. Both Mat and I went on to order crab and sweetcorn chowder for our entree, and when it came out it had a piece of crispy bacon on top of the soup which was not mentioned on the menu. Unbelievable to think that the server first of all had not known that the bacon was in the dish, but even if she hadn't, the bacon was right there on the top of the soup and we had just had the conversation so she failed big time by placing it in front of us

When we told her again that we didn't eat meat, she was very apologetic and took the soup away to be 'replaced' with a bacon-free bowl (or possibly just take the bacon off, the thought of which made me not very keen to eat the soup when it reappeared.) The chowder in itself was nothing to write home about, it was sadly lacking in crab so was basically just a sweetcorn soup

For entrees, the receipt says one of us had a shrimp caesar salad and the other had tuna nicoise salad. We can't remember who had which, but we both seem to remember being satisfied with our main courses

Dessert was a sharing plate including a chocolate Mickey which we felt guilty about eating, not to mention the fact that we were pretty full so just had a little nibble of his arms and legs. Overall we were a bit disappointed with our experience here. I would probably give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was a one-off dodgy experience, and try the restaurant again

Day 12 - Dinner - California Grill, Contemporary Resort

We thought the 'exclusive' dedicated elevator up to the restaurant really starts the experience off on the right foot. It made it all feel very special. The reviews I had read of the California Grill were pretty much all very good, so we were expecting big things and I was a bit apprehensive as to whether the restaurant could live up to my expectations. In the event, this was my favourite signature restaurant along with Jiko. I think Jiko just pipped CG on the food and server, but the atmosphere and location was better at the California Grill. It really does feel like a special place with the balcony and the views of Magic Kingdom

I was worried it would be stuffy and not welcoming to children but we didn't find that to be the case at all. Being at the Contemporary, the decor was simple and modern and it was such a lovely light space with floor to ceiling windows. It doesn't look light in this photo but that's our dodgy camera and the fact that it was getting dark by the time we took the picture



Pretty much as soon as we sat down and met our very friendly server, we were desperate to get out onto the balcony to look at the view. Our lovely server encouraged us to go out there whenever we were ready and as many times as we liked. It was still light when we first went out onto the balcony and it was a wonderful experience just taking in the sights of Magic Kingdom and the rest of Disney World. It was one of my holiday highlights, no question



We had a really good meal. Mat and I both had a crab starter and since my receipt doesn't match up with the only menu I can find online, I can't be sure what had for entrees except Mat had some kind of halibut and I had something that shows up on the receipt as 'arctic char.' I've googled it and apparently it's fish which is served pan-fried at the Cali Grill. I might not be able to remember what I had but I know it was very tasty. We didn't have room for puds so we both had some kind of coffee as part of our two credits instead. I also had two sangrias OOP which went down very well. Seren had a pizza and we asked for pasta with tomato sauce for Freya as she doesn't like mac and cheese which was the pasta on the menu. Of course making a tomato pasta was no trouble for them and went down really well with Freya

Day 13 - Breakfast - Pastries / muffins from TTC Kiosk

We grabbed some pastries and muffins from a kiosk at the TTC on our way out of Magic Kingdom. These were fine

Day 13 - Lunch was at Islands of Adventure

Day 13 - Dinner - Yacht Club Room Service

By the time we arrived back at the Yacht Club today we had decided on room service pizza. It was very nice, just what we needed. We had the Pizza Party for four (pizza, salad and soft drinks) which cost us 2 credits each but we had plenty of credits to spare now, and the convenience was great

(Excuse the mess, we were packing )



Day 14 - Breakfast - Cape May Cafe, Beach Club

Breakfast was at Cape May Cafe at the Beach Club which I had saved for the last day for convenience. It was the girls' last character meal and unfortunately it was the only disappointing one we had. The buffet was very limited we thought, compared to the likes of Chef Mickey, and although we all ate enough, the food wasn't great. Even the fruit was a bit bleurgh

Also, our server was a bit rubbish. He was a bit of a ditherer and we had to ask him for things more than once. We were also disappointed with the characters. We weren't disappointed with the interaction, but because there were only three characters doing the rounds (Goofy, Donald and Minnie) and that the Main Man was sadly absent. I think I knew when I booked that we wouldn't get the full complement like we had at Chef Mickey, but I had forgotten



Day 14 - Lunch - Restaurant-o-Saurus, Animal Kingdom

Mat and I both had a grilled vegetable sandwich and fries, and it was very tasty. The girls had fries. I really liked the theming in here, and they had a great toppings bar

Day 14 - Dinner - Flying Fish Cafe, The Boardwalk

Flying Fish was my least favourite Signature restaurant experience of the four we did. It was our last night and the weather was rubbish so it wasn't exactly a level playing field. But there were a few other reasons why FF was not a great meal. Our server was pretty poor. He didn't make an effort to talk to us much at all and didn't seem like he really wanted to be there. We realised as we tucked into our mains that he hadn't even mentioned Seren's allergy. By now we were doing a grand job with working out for ourselves anything that she shouldn't be having, but since almost every other table service restaurant we had visited had been so on the ball with her allergy, for a Signature this was a pretty poor show. We also realised after we were given our starters that we hadn't been given any bread, and so had to ask for some

The food was very good however. I had a very tasty salad to start made with leaves grown at the Epcot Land Pavilion, and then I had the local fish. Mat had a tomato salad followed by Ginger and Teriyaki Char-Crusted Yellowfin Tuna - bok choy, Asian mushrooms, carrots, snap and snow peas, with a lightly curried carrot-coconut lemongrass infusion. He enjoyed both. Seren and Freya had tomato pasta and then both had the Mickey Puzzle for dessert and loved 'painting' the white chocolate pieces. For dessert I had#Caramelized Banana Napoleon - crisp phyllo, banana mousse, creme caramel, exotic fruit coulis and bitter chocolate which was very good but I couldn't finish it all. Mat had cheesecake (cheesecakes always go down well with him.) The service slowed down towards the end and we were left waiting quite a while to settle the check, which I really don't like

Overall, I would say my top three table service restaurant experiences were:

1. Jiko
2. California Grill
3. Les Chefs de France

And the bottom three were

1. Wolfgang Puck Cafe
2. Grand Floridian Cafe
3. The service at Yak & Yeti (but not the food)

Thanks for reading. Any questions, please give me a shout

Michelle

[mossyflossy]

really enjoyed your reviews, Michelle: I could picture so many of the dishes you mention as we've had them too, as we also eat only veggie/fish and our youngest dd has peanut/sesame allergy. I think that's why we also find deluxe ddp to work best for our family for similar reasons to you.

It's interesting to read your experiences with the chefs/servers as the only restaurants we've been to where the chef didn't come out to speak to us was tutto itallia and the first time we went to coral reef when a butternut squash soup was delivered as lobster bisque despite an allergy to shellfish! But later visits to coral reef were very good, so it's sometimes worthwhile giving places a second shot.

I'd recommend artists point next time you go to WDW as their signature dish is cedar plank wild salmon, although we really enjoy their halibut dish too. the salmon is also on the kids menu.

It's also a shame that you didn't try the fish of the day dish at grand floridian, and the orange/chocolate fondue and fruit. If you decide to go back, do try them, as they are really really good.
GFC used to also do a strawberry salad which was so fresh and crisp, but perhaps you didn't order it because of the cashews?

so thank you again, it was really enjoyable to join you on the 14 day feast.