Here's what a little PIXIE DUST can do ....... a dining review+pics COMPLETED!!!!!

[dizneeat]

Still Day 26, Sept 9

Kringla Cafe og Bakeri

We still had a few CS credits to use up, so we decided to spend one at the Norwegian Bakery again and share another sandwich.

They freshly toast their sandwiches and this one was really nice as well, even though we opted to try a ham and cheese sandwich with included some green apple slices inside the sandwich. It was really tasty, the apples complemented the cheese and ham very well.

We got another salad to go with it. These salads always taste a bit of the plastic container they come in. But at least some crisp leaves of lettuce, and some cheese and tomatoes!

For dessert we got a coconut tart. It was filled with vanilla cream and I wish it would have had more coconut taste.

Bonus photos:

Mickey wanted some popcorn!

This nice CM took requests to write the names of English towns on the ground. I asked her to write down the name of the town my aunt lives in.

We left Epcot to go back to the resort to prepare for EMH at the Animal Kingdom and later dinner at Jiko! Well, we never made it to Jiko!

So what did we actually cost Disney?
Kringla Cafe og Bakeri = $ 18
13 CS credits = $ 266,10 (10 CS credits remain)
18 TS credits = $ 674,30 (6 TS credits remain)
2 snack credits = $ 7,00 (22 snack credits remain)
all in all = $ 965,40
(only accounting for the things covered by the DDP!! Not covering any items purchased OOP)

Next up - Wolfgang Puck Express takeaway

 

[Stefy]

Wow! Which restaurants ARE you going to try? I loved that dessert - it was so nice to have something new on the menu!

We are going deluxe and have 14 nights worth of food down already. But from your reviews you have confirmed that we have to try:-

Grand Floridian Cafe
Le Cellier
Tutto Italia
California Grill
Ghirardelli
Oh and the Dessert Party if they extend it to later on this year

Oooh that coconut tart looks yummy. But from the sounds of it, you had the same experience we had with the School Bread. We tried it for the first time last trip and I was expecting this huge round thing with white shavings, but it had brown shavings and was very tasteless with lots of cream inside (the cream was good, but was too much after a while).

 

[Linda67]

Another great review
Orpington is in Kent isn't it? My SIL lives in Kent

 

[dizneeat]

We are going deluxe and have 14 nights worth of food down already. But from your reviews you have confirmed that we have to try:-

Grand Floridian Cafe
Le Cellier
Tutto Italia
California Grill
Ghirardelli
Oh and the Dessert Party if they extend it to later on this year

Oooh that coconut tart looks yummy. But from the sounds of it, you had the same experience we had with the School Bread. We tried it for the first time last trip and I was expecting this huge round thing with white shavings, but it had brown shavings and was very tasteless with lots of cream inside (the cream was good, but was too much after a while).

How wonderful for you doing the Deluxe Dining Plan! We are doing it too for half of our stay! It's lots of credits to take care of!

As for the restaurants from my reviews -
The Grand Floridian Cafe definitely is a hidden gem!
LeCellier is wonderful too! Ask for either Brandon or Patrick as your servers, they will make your experience even more wonderful!
Tutto Italia is expensive, but the food is to die for.
California Grill is our favourite! The fireworks from up there are just out of this world and they do pipe in the music! If you love chocolate, try their molten chocolate cake! Heaven on a plate. Oh, and ask if Ron is working that day and if so, ask to be seated in his part of the restaurant - he is awesome!

Are you taking advantage of the Disney.co.uk offer? Where are you staying? We are going to stay at OKW again for the second part of our stay! We love it there - the space these villas offer is just HUGE!

Another great review
Orpington is in Kent isn't it? My SIL lives in Kent

Yes, Orpington is in Kent! We love to visit my aunt there, it's close to London and on the other hand such a nice place to live! Where does your SIL live?

 

[Stefy]

I know, there is so much food, so far we have used up 31TS's and are saving the rest for CS's for breakfast, lunches etc. Am also gonna go to town on the SC's as we are going to be at there for F&WF and also can't wait to make up some snacks from Goody's Candy Co.

We are defo looking forward to trying Cali Grill. We are going to try and book a late meal so we can watch Wishes and I will defo try the Molten Chocolate Cake as it sounds like heaven

We booked towards the end of last year. We are taking advantage of the free dining and have upgraded to the DxDP, staying at the Polynesian for the first time, which is very exciting as we love the place and have always wanted to stay there.

We would love to do a split stay, but it is not easy as we have to book one hotel for 7 nights and the other for 7 nights making you book tickets and dining twice which kinda ups the bill. We are hoping to buy into DVC at some point, but have a wedding and a new house to get out of the way first.

 

[disney_princess_85]

Hmm, I've never considered using a CS credit in Norway! The ham, cheese and apple sandwich looks interesting. Did you notice if they had any vegetarian options? Also, do you know if you can get school bread as the dessert?

Looking forward to your WPE review.

 

[tinacaplan]

Just saying hi! I've read all of your reviews and look...about a month away from myFebruary trip to CSR!!! I am incredibly excited!!! Must mean you are, too! Its amazing that you have a dining reviews to work while getting ready to start packing for a trip back.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I'm traveling for work right now and miss my family. So thank you for the photos and the reviews. If I can't be with my husband and kids, I'm glad to be here with the DISers

Oh yes, my stomach is now GROWLING pretty bad after all those yummy photos. I could LIVE on the pretzel bread dipped in cheese soup from Le Cellier!

 

[dizneeat]

I know, there is so much food, so far we have used up 31TS's and are saving the rest for CS's for breakfast, lunches etc. Am also gonna go to town on the SC's as we are going to be at there for F&WF and also can't wait to make up some snacks from Goody's Candy Co.

We are defo looking forward to trying Cali Grill. We are going to try and book a late meal so we can watch Wishes and I will defo try the Molten Chocolate Cake as it sounds like heaven

We booked towards the end of last year. We are taking advantage of the free dining and have upgraded to the DxDP, staying at the Polynesian for the first time, which is very exciting as we love the place and have always wanted to stay there.

We would love to do a split stay, but it is not easy as we have to book one hotel for 7 nights and the other for 7 nights making you book tickets and dining twice which kinda ups the bill. We are hoping to buy into DVC at some point, but have a wedding and a new house to get out of the way first.

Thanks for sharing all your plans. Getting those credits spent is some kind of work and keeping up with them is hard work too!
We booked two bounceback FD offers last summer, but are in the process to change the second one to the British offer. We LOVE OKW too much to pass it up.
And I am positive, that you are going to LOVE the Poly! It's a wonderful resort and the convenience of being at a Monorail Resort is wonderful. And I do understand what you say about the tickets. Tom and I are AP holders and having to buy tickets (multiple day tickets) with the Brit offer is some kind of extra expense. But last year we bought a never expire option for the 7 day tickets (we had to buy with the Brit offer then) and plan on using them in 2011, together with the ones we have to buy this summer.

Good idea to book a late dinner at California Grill. Most families with young children eat at a time, so they can leave after the fireworks and it gets much quieter after the fireworks!

Hmm, I've never considered using a CS credit in Norway! The ham, cheese and apple sandwich looks interesting. Did you notice if they had any vegetarian options? Also, do you know if you can get school bread as the dessert?

Looking forward to your WPE review.

Neither have we. We happened to look for something we could spend a snack credit on and once we saw the sandwiches we asked if they were a CS option. So this is how they got us hooked!
I am not sure about vegetarian options. I can have a look in 4 1/2 weeks when we go back, but the schoolbread is definitely a dessert option!

Just saying hi! I've read all of your reviews and look...about a month away from myFebruary trip to CSR!!! I am incredibly excited!!! Must mean you are, too! Its amazing that you have a dining reviews to work while getting ready to start packing for a trip back.

Yes, I am as excited as you are - just one more month! It's coming up soon! Yippie!!
I REALLY want to finish my review here before we leave and I want to start a new one for my upcoming trip. But I have to finish my trip report (on my homepage) too! and I still have 1/3 of that to do!

I'm traveling for work right now and miss my family. So thank you for the photos and the reviews. If I can't be with my husband and kids, I'm glad to be here with the DISers

Oh yes, my stomach is now GROWLING pretty bad after all those yummy photos. I could LIVE on the pretzel bread dipped in cheese soup from Le Cellier!

I hope you won't be away from your family for too long! It's fun to read how we all have the same favourites - like cheese soup and pretzel bread, but next time, try to get the sausage and dip it into the soup - oh my !

 

[dizneeat]

........... and still Day 26, Sept 9

Take away sandwich from Wolfgang Puck's Express

We had a reservation at Jiko that evening, where we wanted to go after Evening EMH, but during the afternoon we both decided that we didn't feel like having another HUGE meal, so I cancelled the reservation and we agreed on either picking something up at the AK, or at WPE or EoS before we got back to OKW.

So we enjoyed a few hours and lots of rides at the AK.

At around 8pm we decided to call it a day and head back to our resort. WPE had sounded to tempting, so we went there to pick up some dinner. But we both were so full from snacking in the afternoon that we decided to just pick up one sandwich and share it at the resort.

Chicken Pesto Focaccia - all natural rotisserie chicken, garlic-basil-pesto sauce, red onions, chopped Romaine and Roma tomatoes and Creamy Lemon Pesto. We were told to wait in the area where the cash register is and it only took about 5 minutes for our food to be brought out. Once back at OKW we got out all the salads we still had in the fridge and started munching away. The sandwich and chips were SO good, but it was even better nibbling away on them in the comfort of your living room, comfortably putting your feet up on the couch in front of the TV!

Next up - lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque.

 

[Linda67]

Yes, Orpington is in Kent! We love to visit my aunt there, it's close to London and on the other hand such a nice place to live! Where does your SIL live?

My SIL lives in Faversham, it's close to Canterbury if you have never visited Canterbury you should, it's really lovely

 

[dizneeat]

Day 28, Sept 10

Lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque

We wanted to try the Picknick in the Park and went to AK in the morning. We got on all our favourite rides and ordered the Picnic to take away with us for 12.30. But since we only had had a snack (Mickey Head Cake) breakfast, we were hungry around 11.30 and decided to have an early lunch at Flame Tree BBQ.

Tom ordered the 1/2 Slab of St. Louis Ribs - served with baked beans and coleslaw. These were as good as we remembered. The meat fell off the bone and we added some extra BBQ sauce. The beans never look appetizing and are a bit too sweet for my taste, but we both enjoyed the coleslaw that came with it.

I had the Pulled Pork Sandwich - served with baked beans. I completely forgot to tell the CM to substitute coleslaw for the beans, so beans it was. The sandwich is just so good. The pork is moist and tender and we always add a little BBQ sauce to it, to give it some extra taste. Yum!

I had the Key Lime Pie for dessert. I have always loved the Key Lime Pie there, but this time the Lime filling was not as tart as it used to be. It was more on the sweet side.

Tom had the Chocolate Cake. Moist very dark cake with lots of icing. This is a very sweet cake and he only managed to eat half of it.

So what did we actually cost Disney?
Flame Tree BBQ = $ 33,10
14 CS credits = $ 284,10 (8 CS credits remain)
18 TS credits = $ 674,30 (6 TS credits remain)
2 snack credits = $ 7,00 (22 snack credits remain)
all in all = $ 998,50
(only accounting for the things covered by the DDP!! Not covering any items purchased OOP)

Next up Picnic in the Park

 

[dizneeat]

My SIL lives in Faversham, it's close to Canterbury if you have never visited Canterbury you should, it's really lovely

I've never been to Faversham, but we have been to Canterbury - what a wonderful place! Your SIL is really lucky!

 

[DaveInTN]

........... and still Day 26, Sept 9

Once back at OKW we got out all the salads we still had in the fridge and started munching away. The sandwich and chips were SO good, but it was even better nibbling away on them in the comfort of your living room, comfortably putting your feet up on the couch in front of the TV!

There are times when sitting in a restaurant eating a big meal just isn't appealing, and the thought of getting comfortable and eating in front of the tv in the room sounds so nice. Sounds like that was a wonderful evening, and a wonderful sandwich!

 

[Stefy]

Thanks for sharing all your plans. Getting those credits spent is some kind of work and keeping up with them is hard work too!
We booked two bounceback FD offers last summer, but are in the process to change the second one to the British offer. We LOVE OKW too much to pass it up.
And I am positive, that you are going to LOVE the Poly! It's a wonderful resort and the convenience of being at a Monorail Resort is wonderful. And I do understand what you say about the tickets. Tom and I are AP holders and having to buy tickets (multiple day tickets) with the Brit offer is some kind of extra expense. But last year we bought a never expire option for the 7 day tickets (we had to buy with the Brit offer then) and plan on using them in 2011, together with the ones we have to buy this summer.

Good idea to book a late dinner at California Grill. Most families with young children eat at a time, so they can leave after the fireworks and it gets much quieter after the fireworks!

Am thinking about doing a PTR, but am researching others right now so I can get an idea of what other Disers are posting this far out (if that makes sense).

Glad someone else gets the predicament with tickets etc when split staying. I am sure we will do it one day (when we get AP's).

That sandwich from WPE sounds and looks yummy and the Flame Tree BBQ meals look great too (love eating here when we go to AK).

How does Pick Nick in the Park work then?

DaveInTN - love your Avatar

 

[tinkmom2]

We LOVE Flametree BBQ too! Our next trip is going to be a 5 day cruise on the Dream but I would love to go back to AK for a day! I love Jiko's too but now I have tried Sanaa I think that's my new favorite at Kidani Village. Can you adopt me lol? I know I am a bit old at 37 but I will work for food lol!

 

[dizneeat]

There are times when sitting in a restaurant eating a big meal just isn't appealing, and the thought of getting comfortable and eating in front of the tv in the room sounds so nice. Sounds like that was a wonderful evening, and a wonderful sandwich!

You are so right - we were really not looking forward to another big meal, and in the end this ended up to be one of the most relaxing evenings we spent at OKW!

Am thinking about doing a PTR, but am researching others right now so I can get an idea of what other Disers are posting this far out (if that makes sense).

Glad someone else gets the predicament with tickets etc when split staying. I am sure we will do it one day (when we get AP's).

That sandwich from WPE sounds and looks yummy and the Flame Tree BBQ meals look great too (love eating here when we go to AK).

How does Pick Nick in the Park work then?

DaveInTN - love your Avatar

I would LOVE to read your PTR!

It is a pain when you have to buy tickets, esp. multi day tickets, when you do not need them - and the Brit tickets DO expire, so you cannot even keep them for another trip unless you pay extra for the non-expiration option! That's why we only do the second part with the Brits and have the first part booked as a Bounceback in the US - only a one day ticket, that won't expire!

Picnic in the Park is now only offered seasonally, but I hope they do bring it back during the summer months! It was fun and the food was really nice - review is coming right up!

We LOVE Flametree BBQ too! Our next trip is going to be a 5 day cruise on the Dream but I would love to go back to AK for a day! I love Jiko's too but now I have tried Sanaa I think that's my new favorite at Kidani Village. Can you adopt me lol? I know I am a bit old at 37 but I will work for food lol!

Flametree , Sanaa , Disney Cruise Line



It took us a long time to try Flametree BBQ, but we have fallen in love with it! Can you believe it, but we have never been to Jiko! We are going to do DxDDP for the second part of our trip in August and we want to do ALL the signature restaurants - I guess I won't fit into my plane seat on the way home!

 

[dizneeat]

Still Day 28, Sept 10

Picnic in the Park

Something we wanted to try was the Picnic in the Park option they offered at the Animal Kingdom. So before we headed to Flametree BBQ we went and ordered our picnic.
We were told to go to the ordering station, which was near the Island Mercantile and we were asked, as to when we wanted to pick up our picnic bag. We chose 1pm, ordered the food we wanted and paid for it out of pocket.
Shortly after 1pm we went to the pick up window, which was the Kusafari Coffee Shop & Bakery, presented our bill/confirmation and were handed a green shopping bag, full of goodies.
We didn't intend to eat it then and there, so we took it with us as we left the park and went back to Old Key West.

Here's everything that was inside the green bag seen in the photo. Ups, Mickey does NOT come with the package, he was keen on having a look at what was on offer too!

There was a map with lots of information and all the picnic sites in the park.

Plates, plastic cutlery and lots of condiments were packed too!

The only drinks option was bottled water - beware, these are small bottles and when we got back to the resort the water was warm. I don't know it would have been really cold had we drunk it right away.

Nice cookie. Unfortunately we only nibbled on it and it was nice and moist, but after lying around for some time we had to bin the rest of it! Shame!

Chewy brownie. This was quite a big piece and it was nice and moist and chewy. Again we had to nibble on it for some time - too much to consume at once.

We loved the coleslaw! This was really tasty and crunchy and even though we only ate it later in the day it was perfect with our main course.

Main course - rotisserie chicken! Oh my this was SO good! Even cold! And there was more than plenty of it!

We both thought that this was really good value for money - it was $ 22.40 for the two of us for the chicken, slaw, 2 desserts, 2 small water bottles AND a reuseable shopping bag!
Picnic in the Park is now only available seasonally, so I just hope they bring it back during the summer months, as we would definitely do it again in a heartbeat!

Next up - California Grill

 

[Stefy]

I would LOVE to read your PTR!

It is a pain when you have to buy tickets, esp. multi day tickets, when you do not need them - and the Brit tickets DO expire, so you cannot even keep them for another trip unless you pay extra for the non-expiration option! That's why we only do the second part with the Brits and have the first part booked as a Bounceback in the US - only a one day ticket, that won't expire!

Picnic in the Park is now only offered seasonally, but I hope they do bring it back during the summer months! It was fun and the food was really nice - review is coming right up!

I will let you know when we start, hope to see you there

Your way sounds like a good idea. So when you book the bounceback you book the resort and tickets (and dining?) for one week and then back home you book the UK offer for another week, with tickets (and dining?).

Picnic in the Park sounds and looks like fun. The rotisserie chicken looks yumma and I love the cute lil picnic bag it comes in

 

[DaveInTN]

DaveInTN - love your Avatar

Thanks Stefy....there is a story behind it per my Nov 2009 TR.

And can I say again how much I am loving this TR?? LOVE these food pics! Can't wait for your Cali Grill review!