We went, we ate, we're back! 1st time DDP users take on WDW...

[welovedis]

Our family is just back from 9 days in the world (6/24-7/2) and we lived thru the dining plan to come back & report.
Our family consists of me, DH & our 9 yo DS. I have food allergies and was worried about my choices with the plan, now I have no worries!

Here's the breakdown, I'll add more as I sort thru the rubble & receipts!

Day One:
Lunch @ Artist Palette @ SSR:
Turkey Caesar Sandwich w/chips $7.29
Lunch Special Sandwich w/chips $7.29
Chicken Strips w/chips $6.89
3 sodas $6.00 (I think)
2 cookies $4.18
Chocolate cake $3.59

Total before tax $35.24 ( don't have the taxable total since I didn't write it down)

Dinner @ Mama Melroses @ MGM
Kids Salad $1.99
Kids Pasta $4.99
Kids Gelato $2.99
Bruschetta $6.59
Mozzarella Appetizer $6.29
2 Sodas $4.38
Chicken Parm $16.49
Fra Diavolo $18.49
Chocolate Truffle Cake $5.69
Tofu Cake (special for me!) $5.69
Subtotal $73.59
Tip $13.25
Tax $4.79

Totall $91.63

Snacks from Beverly Sunset @ MGM (used 2)
Slushie drinks (2) 6.39

Total for day $133.26 (+ a little more with tax from AP lunch)

Definitely think DDP is worthwhile, since we paid $87 a day for our plan!!!

Mama Melroses is a must-do for us every trip and we enjoyed our meal there yet again. The service was ok, not the best we've had, but the food was terrific and Chef Gary went out to an outside bakery to get me a tofu cake to start off my trip in a great fashion. It wasn't the most terrific thing I ever tasted, but not bad for a cake made with no eggs, milk or nuts!

Saratoga's Artist Palette left a lot to be desired, IMO, although we ended up going back a couple of times. Glad to see that the Turf Club was starting to serve meals on the day we left as that resort was really lacking in the food dept.

 

[welovedis]

Day Two 6/25 (sunday)
Lunch @ Tusker House @ AK:
1/2 Rotissere Chicken w/garlic mashed pot & veggies $7.99
Turkey Wrap w/corn chowder $7.29
Kids Chicken Drumstick meal w/mashed pot & applesauce $3.99
2 adult drinks $4.78
2 Chocolate Cakes $7.58
Carrot Cake $3.29

Total before tax $34.92

Dinner at Concourse Steakhouse @ the Contemporary
3 Sodas $6.57
Pan Seared Scallops $8.59
Honey Wings $8.59
Kids Shrimp Cocktail $5.99
Kids Chicken breast with m potatoes & veggies $8.99
2-- 7 oz filet dinners $57.98
Kids Brownie Sundae $5.99
Rice Dream $4.99
Creme Brulee $5.99

total $113.68
tip $20.46
tax $7.39

Total $141.53

Total for day 2 $176.45!!

This was the first time we ever tried Tusker House & we all liked the choices there as much as FTB, the food was really fresh, the chicken was not at all greasy & it was nice to sit indoors and out of the heat.

We waited about 40 mins for our table (with an ADR) at the Concourse and enjoyed the atmosphere. Our table was right at the edge of the restaurant where it joined with Chef Mickey's so we could hear a little bit of the antics, but got to relax & enjoy the pace of our meal. The steaks were "OK" according to DH who enjoys them more often than I do, I thought mine was very good.

 

[welovedis]

Day 3 6/26 (Monday)

Lunch @ Artist Palette @ Saratoga:
Chicken Spinach Artichoke Flatbread $7.99
Pepperoni Flatbread $7.99
Kids meal mini hot dogs with applesauce & mickey crackers $3.99
Apple Pie $3.59
Strawberry Cheesecake $3.59
Choc Chip Cookie $2.09
3 sodas $6.27

Total with tax $36.66


Dinner @ Le Cellier in Epcot:
Cheese Soup $4.99
Shrimp Cocktail $9.99
2 Mushroom Filet dinners $55.98
Raspberry Sorbet $5.99
Happy Celebration Cake $7.99
Coke $2.19
Total $87.13
tip $15.68
tax $5.67
Total $108.48**
I had an ice wine martini that I paid for OOP & our DS did not dine with us, he was at the Sandcastle Club this night

Total for the day $145.14

We enjoyed trying Le Cellier for the first time and were happy that our meal went well, the server was gracious and friendly & the chef aimed to please. He was disappointed that I couldn't enjoy the breads because of my allergies but said to call directly to the restaurant before my next visit and they would do their best to have a bread I could try. The ice wine martini was different and refreshing, DH enjoyed his cake immensely!

 

[Ashley80]

Wow, you really came out ahead on day 2!

 

[welovedis]

Day 4 (6/27)-Tueday

Lunch @ Sunshine Season in Epcot
Baked Lays $1.29
Chicken Salas $7.59
Asian entree w/2 sides $7.69
Fruit Tulip $3.99
Kids Meal Chicken Drumstick with potatoes and mickey crackers $3.99
Large soda $2.39
Red soda $2.09
Strawberry shortcake $3.49
Kids ice cream in cone $2.99*
Total with tax $37.82
* they let DS eat his meal & come back for this

Dinner @ Artist Palette @ Saratoga:
BBQ Pork Flatbread $7.99
Pepperoni Flatbread $7.99
Apple Pie $3.59
Chocolate Cake $3.59
2 drinks $4.09 (bottled drinks)
Total with tax $27.81

3 snack credits used for bottled water, powerade & strawberries too $8.02

Total for day 4 $73.65

DS got sick in Epcot after lunch, probably because he drank milk and then went outside and didn't drink very much water. We spent the afternoon in the First Aid center & then tried to make it to Spoodles for dinner, but he got sick again and we had to go back to our room for the night.

Sunshine would be high on my list for CS in Epcot, the selections were abundant and the quality of the food seemed better than most other CS places. Plus you cannot beat the desserts that they had there!

 

[welovedis]

Day 5 (6/28)-Wednesday

We had to make up a TS meal because of our plans getting changed the day before so we chose:
Lunch at San Angel Inn in Mexico:
Kids Quesadilla $5.99
Ceviche $8.25
Sopa Azteca $4.50
Plato Mexicano $15.50
Pollo A La Rajas $15.99
2 sodas $4.78
Rice Pudding $3.79
Flan $4.59
Total $63.39
tip $11.41
tax $4.12
Total for lunch $78.92
ds did not order a dessert because he was full, they did not have a child's appetizer on the menu, I asked & was told they did not have 1 available.

Dinner at Cape May Clambake at Beach Club
1 child buffet 11.99
2 adult buffets $57.98
total $63.97
tip $11.51
tax $4.16
Total for dinner $79.64

Total for the day $158.56

After having lunch in San Angel a few times I personally wouldn't go back. We have a few "authentic" Mexican restaurants locally & the food is just as good, if not better. I know that many people like the atmosphere, the opposite is true for us. DS could not read his menu until I took the shade off the lamp & held it up to the light. Plus my DH is deaf & relies alot on lip reading & it just doesn't work for us.

Cape May on the other hand was awesome as usual, and the chef went out of his way to make me some clams/shrimp back in the kitchen so that I would not have cross contamination from the ones cooked out in the center area.

 

[ZPT1022]

Thanks Karen! It makes me happy to hear yet again how accomodating they are to food allergies. I've also received the advice of call ahead and they will set you up with something, I'm trying it on this trip. In the past I waited until we were there and then tried to work around my food issues but we will see how it goes with advance planning.

 

[welovedis]

Thanks Karen! It makes me happy to hear yet again how accomodating they are to food allergies. I've also received the advice of call ahead and they will set you up with something, I'm trying it on this trip. In the past I waited until we were there and then tried to work around my food issues but we will see how it goes with advance planning.

Glad it helps! This is my 3rd or 4th trip to WDW after being diagnosed with the allergies and it gets easier every time. I know that pretty much every table service will have either Edy's vanilla ice cream or Rice Dream so I know I would have those for dessert if it came down to it. It was just really nice when a chef tried hard to do something special, I never expect it, but it is great when it happens. If you want the email addy for Barbara Bennet at MK foods, she is a great help, just PM me for it.

 

[welovedis]

I've totaled up just the first 5 days of the trip and the meals and snacks would have cost us $687.06, we paid a total of $695.76 for the 8 nights we were there so we are almost even at this point and there are many more dinners, CS meals and snacks to come.

The most worthwhile part of the plan was not worrying about DS and what he would or would not eat & getting aggravated about it. Plus the fact that you don't have to check over your resort bill on the last morning to be sure it is all ok was another plus!

 

[Armandocme]

We were there the same time (6/22 to 7/2). We were on the DDP from 6/24 to 7/2 (we stayed at CR for the 1st two nights for a conference and then at CBR from 6/24 to 7/2). It was great being on the DDP. It was really fun trying to figure out which TS dining we wanted to try without having to worry about the cost! It was so much food. My body is still expecting the 3 course meals as of today!

 

[frannn]

Thanks for the great breakdowns and info on all your meals! I love Epcot for all the great non-burger CS choices, and tend to steer towards the Chinese or Japanese CS. Is the Asian food at SS better than at Lotus Blossom and Yakitori House? What were the choices & was it a large portion? I'd love to hear more, so I can continue working on DH before our trip!

 

[Cruz Family]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[PureTcrazy]

You are doing a great job, so many details! Thanks!

 

[tessieg]

I'd like to hear about the asian food at Sunshine Seasons too. Both of my dd's love it and I thought we could all split one like we do at the mall, if the portion is big.
Thanks for the info!
Tessie

 

[welovedis]

The asian food at Sunshine Season was plenty for my, I could have shared it easily as I didn't finish my meal. The choices were either 2 entree items and 2 sides ($9.69) or 1 entree item and 2 sides (7.69). I believe there was another option of some type of noodles and another item. I couldn't have the noodles because of my allergies so I went ahead & got the first option. I chose a chicken dish that is similar in taste to General Tsao's chicken but was not breaded and a beef dish that was unlike anything I'd ever tried. It was in a lighter sauce and was really tasty, but no hot spiceness.

I chose white rice and steamed broccoli for my sides. One of the other sides was the aforementioned noodles, not sure what the other choices were. There were at least 2-3 other entree choices as well.

It was served in probably an 8-9 inch plate, each item taking up a quarter of the plate. With my DS, we could have split it easily if we weren't on the plan and would have just gotten something else on the side or dessert to finish the meal off. With the plan that was not a concern, but I would definitely say it was something you could share.

The great thing about the restaurant, even off the meal plan, would be the ability to share and then add something else on if you were still hungry. And the dessert case looked awesome!

 

[frannn]

I wanted to know if one CS credit could be used to get the 2 entree, 2 side Asian food (i love variety), and if it was good. I'm glad to hear it will fit the bill on all counts, and there is a new CS (new to us) to try in Sept!

 

[welovedis]

Day 6 (6/29) Thursday

I need to preface this by saying that this was an unusual day for us, DS & I spent the morning at the resort, bummed around the pool & Community Hall & did laundry. DH headed off to his conference at CSR so we were not together for a meal at all.

DH had 2 meals at the Pepper Market, he didn't keep track of his exact items, but the 2 bills totalled $38.14 for his 2 CS meals of the day

Dinner @ 50's Prime Time in MGM
Shrimp Cocktail $7.49
Sour Apple Freeze (drink) $3.49
Sirloin Steak $19.99
Ice Cream $4.19
Kids Soup $1.99
Kids Meal Hot Dog $4.99
Kids Sundae $2.99
subtotal $45.63
tip $8.21
tax $2.97
Total $56.81

Total for the day $94.95, using 2 TS credits and 2 CS credits only.

50's is a place that we've enjoyed over the years and are used to the antics and sillyness. Our server, Elizabeth, was really good and chatted with us here & there when she wasn't busy. It was fun but not over the top and that worked for us. I'm not as crazy about the food here as I was a few years ago, the root vegetable hash as a side was just not my thing!

Pepper Market was good, as always, according to DH & well worth using the CS credits there.

 

[welovedis]

Day 7 (6/30) Friday

DH had lunch again at Pepper Market @ CSR, total was $19.86 for his meal.

Lunch @ Flame Tree BBQ @ AK for DS & I:
Smoked Turkey breast Sandwich w/ fries $7.29
Drink $2.39
Kids Hot Dog Meal $3.99
Frozen Lemonade (2) $5.98
Total with tax $20.93


Dinner @ Coral Reef @ Epcot
3 Shrimp cocktails $29.97
2 NY Strip Steak meals $63.98
Kids Meal Pasta $4.99
3 drinks $6.57
Happiest Celebration Dessert $7.99
Kids Sundae $5.25
Plain Ice Cream (for me) $2.50
subtotal $121.25
tip $21.83
tax $7.89
Total $150.97


Total for the day $191.76!!!

Flame Tree was good, we've eaten there before and took our trays down to the seating right by the water with EE in the distance, wish the corn was better, it was so soggy by the time DS tried to eat it, that it was just mush. If he had known before we headed over there that they only had the 2 choices for kids meals, we would have gone to Tusker House again instead, baked chicken wings aren't his thing since we get the real Buffalo style wings where we live.

Coral Reef was very good, we had to request to have our table moved as we were originally seated near a large group with some (maybe) college age guys who thought nothing of dropping the f-bomb and a few other choice words in a span of a couple of minutes.

We got moved to a booth down on the first level, I loved sitting there & might request it when we go back. Close to the aquarium but far enough back that we could see more than one panel of it.

The food was good, the steaks were better than I anticipated and our server (Dave K) was subdued but really nice and chatted with us quite a bit near the end of the meal about the sharks in the tank and other subjects. DS loved his sundae, I'll try to post a picture of him with it!

 

[welovedis]

Day 8 (7/1) Saturday

DH ate lunch (again) at Pepper Market on the last day of his convention, his total was $18.96.

Earl of Sandwich @ DTD, DS & I:
Beef & Bleu $4.95
Kids Pizza Sandwich $3.95
2 bags of chips $2.00
2 drinks $3.50
Total with tax $15.34

Dinner @ Maya Grill @ CSR
2 Shrimp cocktails $19.90
Steak & Catch $25.99
Mixed Grill $29.99
3 Drinks $6.57
Nachos (appetizer) $2.19
Shrimp Dinner $8.95
Chocolate Cake dessert $4.95
Van Ice Cream $4.95
Total $103.49
tip $18.63
tax $6.73
Total $128.85

Snacks @ Beverly Sunset
2 Island Chillers $6.00
Carmel Apple $2.81
tax $ 0.58
Total $9.39

Total for day $172.54!

Earl of Sandwich is not a great value choice on the meal plan, IMO because of their restrictions, and I really do like the place. But since their sandwiches don't come with a side you either have a choice of a cookie or brownie or chips and the kids can either get a soda or milk (not a great choice in the summer heat!) but not juice or powerade. My roast beef was so red that the bread part soaked up a lot of the red juice, I took it back & they stuck the same sandwich back in the oven for about a minute, then brought it back and it was super hard on the outside with the meat still pretty red, surprising for E of S! We usually go here at least once during a trip, sometimes twice. Maybe it was just an off day. We would definitely go back just try something else for a change and pay OOP for this one.

Maya Grill---well, I went into this one expecting a great meal and I came out feeling a bit let-down. Our server was just either not paying attention to what we said or didn't understand us very well. Brought both DH & I the wrong drinks, had to ask him twice to speak with the chef regarding my food allergies (he said he had forgotten when I asked him the 1st time and was I sure that I couldn't just tell him and he would go back & forth with the chef), brought DS the wrong appetizer (he ordered nachos, they brought cheesesticks) so he had to wait for them to come out. He gave me the wrong appetizer, good thing I looked before I ate the shrimp because they were sitting on something made with egg, which I have an anaphylactic allergy to, then later on the meal he never came back with DH's drink--he had taken the glass to refill (hate when they do that) and came back at least 10-15 mins later.

However, the portions were really big, the chef (when I spoke with him) was very nice and we enjoyed the meal itself, but the service was really lacking. Tahar (the server) is getting a little mention in a letter I'm writing to WDW regarding the meals/chef's dealing with food allergies just so that they realize how severe a problem that mix-up could have been. I also don't want to downplay that the food was good, the server maybe had a bad night or something.

DH said the dessert was very good, DS passed on his and I had ice cream again. Later after the second Fantasmic show we stopped for slushies and apples and paid OOP for the chocolate covered ones since they aren't on the meal plan. We enjoyed our last night in WDW sitting under the twinkling tree lights & gazing at the sorcerer's hat in MGM.

 

[welovedis]

Day 9 (7/2) Sunday

Breakfast @ Artist Palette @ Saratoga

Kids Mickey Waffles with bacon & grapes $3.99
Powerade $2.09
Breakfast Platter $5.59
Orange Juice $2.09
Total with tax $14.65

Lunch @ Le Cellier in Canada
Tomato Stack Appetizer $7.99
Shrimp Cocktail $9.99
2 Petit Filet Meals $43.98
Maple Creme Brulee $3.99
Rasp Sorbet $3.99
Total $69.94
tip $12.59
tax $4.55
Total $87.08

9 rice krispy treats $28.66

Total for the day $130.39

I did not eat breakfast with the guys (egg allergy) so I just had a bagel in the room while I packed. They said the food was fine, typical b-fast stuff.

Le Cellier for lunch was good, packed with customers and took a bit longer than we anticipated. We paid for DS' meal OOP which was about $20 or so (he had a smoothie, the cheese soup & the steak but had no room for dessert).

We had so many snack credits left-over because we simply had no room to eat much after our meals. We drink water but kept refilling a water bottle that we froze overnight so we didn't think to stop & by any water in the parks. This trip was really hot & draining in a lot of ways, but it was nice to have an air-conditioned meal to get out of the heat!