Mom & Son-One More Time w/Dad! 11 days of DxDDP-10/21, Grand Finale, FF Chef's Table!

[GoofySon'sMom]

Saturday morning we went to Hollywood Studios and had what would only be considered breakfast in Walt Disney World! Starring Rolls cupcakes!

Chocolate peanut butter and Red Velvet.

What can I say? Delicious! But rich, very rich. DS pretty much had the entire chocolate one while DH and I split the red velvet.

I am sorry to report that these were the only two cupcakes consumed this trip! I am vowing to do better in November!

An indulgent pic ... possibly my favorite pic of this trip ... DS being Goofy

To my family that asks ... Why always Disney? This is why! He can be a kid in Disney!

 

[Quin]

Thank you for all the Tokyo Dining pictures! DH and I remember going to this restaurant years and years and years ago. We liked it but for whatever reason had never been back, so it was already on my short list for our next trip. Those pics give me lots more incentive to go.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Lunch was at Mama Melrose's. This was a late addition and I am not sure why. We really enjoyed our meal there last year and I was for some reason hesitant to add it in this year.

First the menu ...

DH and I both had sangria ...

This was very good. Light, refreshing and not too sweet.

The bread ...

Nothing special after all the signature bread baskets we had ...

For appetizer,DS had Caesar Salad - with crisp romaine lettuce, Caesar dressing and herb croutons

This was a nice caear. Crisp romaine and decent dressing.

DH and I split two (DS helped as well) ... the


Clams Oreganata - oak-fired clams cooked in oregano butter with Italian sausage over toasted focaccia and Mama's Antipasto for Two - selection of Italian meats, cheeses, and marinated vegetables

This is one of my favorite appetizers in Disney. The small clams with a bite of sausage and the bread ... oooooh, buttery deliciousness. I am so sorry to see that it has been removed the menu.

This was less wonderful. It is just a weird antipasto plate for me. Pickles? Very odd. The meats were good, but I missed the other usual accompaniments.

For entress, DS had the Penne alla Vodka - with Pancetta and Sweet Onion finished with Tomato-Basil Sauce, Cream, Vodka, and Pecorino Romano

For some reason, I am not a penne alla Vodka fan but Andrew loves it. He said this was good.

DH the Carne D'Italia Flatbread - with Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Pancetta, and Spicy Marinara Sauce

I had a slice and this was just Ok for me but DH liked it well enough. I think it was the sauce that I didn't 'love'.

My dish isn't on Allears. It was a pork milanese with roasted potatoes and asparagus

This was really good. The warm lemon squeezed over the pork was amazing. Pork was perfectly crispy. The potatoes and asparagus were just all right but I had more than enough with the pork so I was good.

As you see the trend with us, no dessert. Total dining plan cost was $98.95. Total OOP for the sangria was $25.56.

All in all we enjoyed our lunch. It is a bit quieter than the other lunch choices so a pleasant stop in the middle of the day.

Shortly after we took the boat to EPCOT and saw there guys from Princess and the Frog ...

And not too long after, DS was hungry and had fish & chips!

Ah, to be a 16 year old boy!

 

[jabead]

An indulgent pic ... possibly my favorite pic of this trip ... DS being Goofy

To my family that asks ... Why always Disney? This is why! He can be a kid in Disney!

I love this picture Vicki! It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that gets that question from family and friends...and for me, even my DH. This picture explains it perfectly. Not only do my now nearly-grown children feel like kids when they are at Disney World, but so do I. If only my DH could feel the Disney "magic", then we would be a very happy Disney family.

 

[emmysmommy]

Now that you are a new sushi fan it is so cool to see your choices! Sorry to say that everyone in my family enjoys sushi but me. (Mind you I've never tried it so how do I know I don't like it? )

That's so odd about the MM antipasto plate and the pickles. I thought if anything they would use those little fancy picklettes (can't remember the name right now) and not a dill pickle. Totally scratching my head on that one...

From my past MM experience, I don't think you missed a lot by passing on dessert.

Glad to see your plans for your March trip - sounds like a perfectly wonderful short trip. Although WE understand the Dis thing that photo of Andrew certainly tells the story for those that don't get it!! Love it!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Thank you for all the Tokyo Dining pictures! DH and I remember going to this restaurant years and years and years ago. We liked it but for whatever reason had never been back, so it was already on my short list for our next trip. Those pics give me lots more incentive to go.

Yes, this was a very pleasant surprise for us. We will be going back for sure.

I love this picture Vicki! It's good to hear that I'm not the only one that gets that question from family and friends...and for me, even my DH. This picture explains it perfectly. Not only do my now nearly-grown children feel like kids when they are at Disney World, but so do I. If only my DH could feel the Disney "magic", then we would be a very happy Disney family.

I am sorry your DH doesn't 'get it'. Jay enjoys our trips but isn't nearly as obsessed as I am. He does 'get it' though. I am so blessed that he is supportive of Andrew and I having our "year of Disney" before he goes off to college. Jay and I are already talking about our trip to Food & Wine without Andrew. That will definitely be a mixed emotion trip for me!

Now that you are a new sushi fan it is so cool to see your choices! Sorry to say that everyone in my family enjoys sushi but me. (Mind you I've never tried it so how do I know I don't like it? )

That's so odd about the MM antipasto plate and the pickles. I thought if anything they would use those little fancy picklettes (can't remember the name right now) and not a dill pickle. Totally scratching my head on that one...

From my past MM experience, I don't think you missed a lot by passing on dessert.

Glad to see your plans for your March trip - sounds like a perfectly wonderful short trip. Although WE understand the Dis thing that photo of Andrew certainly tells the story for those that don't get it!! Love it!

Yes, the pickles were weird. Where were the roasted peppers or giardinera or something else? I think you are trying to think of cornichons? And I agree they would have been better but still a bit weird.

I am sooooooooo looking forward to our weekend getaway trips. November is planned to the minute because there is so much we want to see & do with food & wine and the holiday stuff. March will be a get up in the morning and decide what we want to do that day trip. And of course soon I will be planning our week long August trip!

 

[Tracerr00]

Your Tokyo Dining review has me positively drooling today! It looks fabulous. I have never eaten at Teppan Edo or Tokyo dining but I have a feeling that I'd love both of them. I love tempura and your chicken sounds so good. I don't like fish or seafood so I'm guessing I probably wouldn't enjoy sushi though!

Your pork dish at MM looks like something I'd order as well! And I'm glad to hear that it was good!

People question me about Disney too and they ask why I wouldn't want to try a different vacation. Well, we are going to try a cruise...but it's a Disney cruise! Someone said "After you've been there once why would you keep going back?" What a ridiculous question - there are so many more restaurants that we want to try! No really, at home my DD seems so busy with friends and sports that when we go to Disney, we really get to spend time together at a place that we love. What's so crazy about that??

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

People question me about Disney too and they ask why I wouldn't want to try a different vacation. Well, we are going to try a cruise...but it's a Disney cruise! Someone said "After you've been there once why would you keep going back?" What a ridiculous question - there are so many more restaurants that we want to try! No really, at home my DD seems so busy with friends and sports that when we go to Disney, we really get to spend time together at a place that we love. What's so crazy about that??

I agree. When we are in Disney there is nothing else ... no phone, no friends, no bills, nothing but family. It is truly my happy place.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Saturday night's dinner was originally going to be Citricos. Then Kouzzina. We were having such a great time in EPCOT listening the British Revolution and enjoying one of these ...

That I didn't really want to leave. On a whim, DH asked at Chefs if they were taking walk ups and lo and behold they said "C'mon in".

First the menu ...

First up the bagette with nice cold butter ...

For appetizers, DS and I both had the Soupe a l'oignon Gratinee - the classic onion soup topped with Gruyere cheese

This is really good french onion soup. So good that I broke my rule of not ordering the same thing. Nice beefy broth, tons of cheese. Definitely a favorite.

DH had a flatbread, the A la Flame Alsacienne - Alsace specialty with creme fraiche, onion and bacon

Although I didn't have any this trip, I have had it on previous trips and it is good although there are just too many onions for me so I take some off. I would like the onions if they were more caramelized.

For our entrees, DH had the Filet de Saumon, pommes de terre ecrasees au beurre et ciboulette, sur coulis de tomate et poivron rouge - Broiled salmon, smashed potatoes with butter and chives, served on a tomato and red pepper sauce

I don't eat salmon so I didn't try it but he really enjoyed it.

I ordered the Plat de Cote de Boeuf au Cabarnet avec pates - Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with pasta, pearl onions and mushrooms

I ordered this mostly because Andrew didn't and he talks about this dish constantly at home. The meat was very tender, not fatty. My only complaint was that the pasta was a bit overcooked for me.

DS surprised me by ordering the Gratin de macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese

This is truly a good mac & cheese but as I said he talks about that short rib & pasta dish a lot at home. And sure enough, half way thru his meal I could see him eyeing my plate so I offered to switch. As I said a good mac & cheese but definitely rich. Sharing halves for this meal was a good call.

This is one meal that we did have dessert ...

DH had the strawberry cream cake

This was truly amazing. Very light. A nice dessert.

I had the sorbets which I believe were pear and peach.

Again, a very nice light dessert. The madeleine was really good.

Andrew had the creme brulee ...

It was good. Slightly warm and a nice crunchy topping.

All in all a good meal. I haven't enjoyed Chefs as much for dinner in the past as I have lunch so I was pleasantly surprised. I am glad that we ended changing at the last minute.

Total cost on the dining plan was $152.21. I am thinking that DH had a couple of glasses of wine because the total OOP cost was $21.19.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Since several folks asked, I will tell you a bit about our Illuminations Cruise. I had booked the Cruise and then posted here on the Dis for families to share with us. I had two families join us right away so we were set. Ironically, once I came home and reviewed my pictures, I realized the one family was a Cali Grill with us ...

I remember the woman coming over and commenting on our cake but I didn't put it together. Not sure why she didn't mention something at the Cruise.

Anyway, our other family had a health crisis and had to cancel our trip. We each ended up paying a bit more but in the end, I think it worked out better. The boat has plenty of seats for some are in the back and wouldn't have had the same view of the fireworks.

We met at the Yacht Club,paid and were off. Our skipper took us down towards DHS and then back up towards the Boardwalk. He had stories about the Swalphin and even told us how he worked on Disneyland at a 16 year old boy and met Walt!

I failed at taking pictures because we were chatting and listening to the stories.

We docked near the bridge between France & the UK with 3 other boats. It looked to me that each had assigned spots.

The moon was amazing ...

And the fireworks began ...

Again, I loved the moon ...

It was truly breathtaking. What a magically spot to watch Illuminations. I have to admit that it is not my favorite fireworks show and I really only watch it each year because Andrew likes it. But this gave me a whole new perspective. Absolutely wonderful. Something I wish we could do every trip!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

And we have come to our last day. We checked out of Coronado and into AllStar Movies. I have never stayed in the AllStars but one day want to say that I have stayed at all of the resorts so this seemed like a good time. I really enjoyed the theming ... especially the Toy Story section ...

Love the shadow of the green army man ...

We were then off to the MK. Again, foods that can only be considered breakfast in Walt Disney World to start the day ...

R2D2 Popcorn!

Disney popcorn is like crack. We usually only have it once a trip and this did not disappoint.

Glazed almonds ...

I didn't have any but these are a favorite snack of Andrews ...

And probably my new favorite WDW snack ...

The cream cheese pretzel! The stand had just opened so this was warm and yummy. Cream filling similar to the wontons at Yak & Yeti. I admit that I really didn't share!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

I probably changed this last day's lunch more than any other meal. Right before the trip it was to be Rose & Crown. At some point during the trip I decided that I wanted to be in the MK. For some reason, I have a soft spot for Tony's. No, it is not the best food in the MK but I love Lady & the Tramp and I really enjoy sitting in the windowed area that overlooks Main Street. It was fairly crowded with quite a few people waiting and we were led to the back corner of the restaurant ... as far away from the windows as we could be. So I started out unhappy. But I wouldn't let it ruin our last day.

First the menu ...

For appetizer, I had theSeasonal Fruit - with prosciutto

Who puts onions with cantalope & proscuitto? Just yuck. As perfect as this was at Via Napoli, it wasn't so great here. The melon was just too cold to enjoy.

DS had the Zucchini Fries - Breaded seasoned Zucchini with Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Dressing for dipping $7.99

These alone are worth a trip to Tonys. Hot, crispy ... really good dipping sauce. We all loved them.

DH had the Calamari - topped with Olive Relish and served with a side of Marinara Sauce

I don't eat calamari but really loved the olive relish! I couldn't stop my fork from traveling over there for another taste!

Despite my warning that the red sauce here is "blech", DS ordered the Chicken Parmigiana - Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce topped with Melted Mozzarella over Spaghetti

He ate it but said it was just Ok. Told me I should have stopped him from ordering it. I reminded him that I tried!

I had the panini of the day which was an italian combo ...

This was pretty good. I really like a good italian hero so I didn't enjoy it. Not the best I have ever had, but not the worst.

DH had the Tony's Flatbread - Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Caramelized Onions, Mozzarella, and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This was Ok. But after having such yummy flatbreads at the signatures, it seemed disappointing. If we had had it earlier in the trip, I think we woudl have liked it more.

So not a bad meal but possibly the worst of the trip. Again, if it was earlier in the trip, I think we would have enjoyed it more. Same food but a different perspective. Total dining plan cost was $83.51. Nothing OOP.

A bit later, DH & DS wanted to hit BTMRR and I just wasn't up for it. We found these amazing rockers in Frontierland! I loved rocking away with an iced tea watching the "World" go by. Jay & Andrew came back to join me in time for the parade ...

A truly hidden gem spot in the MK!

 

[dixonsontour]

great updates

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Our last meal was at 'Ohana. I know there are restaurants with better food and even entrees that I like more. But if I was told that I could only have one meal in WDW, this would be it. It is a must do for us each trip. I am bummed that I can't get an ADR in November for Andrew and I! I will keep trying!

This meal has been reviewed to death here on the Dis so I am just going to post the pics of the yumminess with a few comments ...

I am not a huge fan of the pineapple-coconut bread. I prefer a crustier bread. But I wouldn't eat much bread anyhow as I would rather have the meal.

Ditto with the salad. It is a fine salad. Dressing is perfectly ok. But it is after all just salad.

I don't really use the sauces but both DH & DS like them. I prefer to just taste the smokiness of the meats.

I don't eat wings but could make meal out of the potstickers. I just love them. A bit crispy on the outside, nicely spiced on the inside.

Neither Jay or Andrew touch the broccoli and Andrew only eats a few of the noodles. That is Ok with me because I could eat the whole platter. I know some say the noodles have a peanut flavor but I don't really taste it.

And the meats ...

I prefer the pork and the chicken. Some may find them dry but I don't like "wet" pork or chicken so for me they are perfect. I didn't have any steak this year and don't eat shrimp. Andrew had plenty of the steak and Jay had plentry of the shrimp!

And now the best part ... dessert ...

'Ohana bread pudding served a la mode with Bananas and Caramel Sauce! This is soooo good. The caramel sauce is "too die for". I could only eat this here & be happy.

Total diningi plan cost was $105.41 and would be worth every penny even if paying OOP!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Ok, all is complete now except our amazing Flying Fish Chef's Table meal. I am going to take my time writing that out before I post it here so I can do it justice. Hopefully by the end of the week!

So just about finished just in time to start a PTR for our November trip!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Just wanted to add a dining plan cost analysis. I am not counting the first couple days that we were OOP or the extras/alcohol that we paid OOP for.

Using the figures here on the Dis, the deluxe dining plan would have cost us $2052.48 if we paid full price. We had bounceback free dining so we only paid the difference between the regular plan and the deluxe plan which was $815.52.

The cost of the food we ate that was included in the dining plan was $2565.70 not including snacks because I didn't keep track of those. So we would have saved even if we did had paid full price. And we did not eat the most expensive items on the menu. And we hardly ate dessert. And we used credits at The Plaza.

So for us, the deluxe plan works. The food is all part of the trip for us. And we like signature restaurants. Would it make sense for the family that doesn't do the signatures or uses some credits at quick service locations? Maybe not. But for us, it works. My only regret is that we were too full between meals to enjoy all the yummy snacks that WDW has to offer!

 

[jabead]

Another great set of reviews, Vicki! I really enjoyed hearing about your Illuminations cruise, so wanted to be sure and thank you for including that in your report. Also, I'm very much looking forward to the grand finale... your Flying Fish - Chef's Table review. And the best part is that I won't be too sad when your report ends because I know there will be another report coming very soon.

 

[emmysmommy]

Wow! You really turned up the pace with the reviews today - you are putting me to shame!!!

I was so glad to see your Chefs de France review for dinner because I have always hesitated to book anything but lunch since I prefer that menu... but you review proved that I have nothing to fear and can expand my horizons a bit.

What a great view with your Illuminations cruise... after experiencing the show that way I would have a hard time going back to standing 4 deep in a crowd to see the show!

I'm looking forward to your FF Chef's table review!

 

[Faline]

oh nooo!!! When did this happen? This is my favorite thing. First Citrico's takes the gateau of crab off the menu. Now this!!!

 

[sushi candy]

I am finally caught , Vicki! Amazing reviews and thank you for the info on the Illuminations cruise. I can't wait for your Flying Fish Chef's table!

The strawberry shortcake from Les Chefs has definitely caught my eye!