What did WE celebrate? .. 30 days of Disney fun and food! Update 04/02

[englishrose47]

I have to say Tom's Pizza looked wonderful!! Not that yours didn't but all that wonderful STUFF on a Pizza !!!Both desserts were awesome I would be hard pressed to choose !!!

 

[podsnel]

Via Napoli looked delicious- I booked it for our lunch on the last day before we get the DME this May. I almost got in a quickie 3 night trip in two weeks with T&T...but Pods put the kibash on it. He wants Tyler to go to baseball practice (even though Tyler is injured and really can only run and catch the ball- no throwing, no batting). The 3 of us could fly round trip for $400...and there are studios available we could use our points for...but...Pods is a TAURUS and Tyler HAS TO go to baseball practice!! Anyway.......rant over! Looking forward to more...

 

[dizneeat]

Wow Via Napoli looks sooo good! I have been wanting to try it since it opened! Hopefully I will get to in October. The pizza will definitely be ordered!

Can you believe that we cancelled our reservation in February? Somehow we both just didn't feel like it!
We are going back in August/September though! Hope they don't change the menu again - there are still things I want to try and they better not mess with the Zeppole!

Thanks for the great Via Napoli review. That is a lot of food for two people!

I just added a Via Napoli adr to our trip in May and I can't wait to try it. The zeppole look so yummy!

It was an AWFUL lot of food! This is why this will be our one and only experience with the DxDDP! Far too much food, especially in the hot summer months!
The Zeppole dipped into the chocolate and then a little whipped cream on top!

Karin the dessert you had at Via Napoli was my favorite when we went. I ate every bite! (I don't know how I did it after eating a pizza!) It was just that good. You described it perfectly, the chocolate and whipped cream compliment the fritters.

It is sooooooooo good, isn't it, Teri?
I really would have loved to eat more than 2 or 3, but with all the food we had I just could not fit any more in. Next time we plan on just sharing a starter, a medium sized pizza and then the Zeppole!

Tom's pizza is what I plan to order on our next visit!

Good choice!

 

[dizneeat]

Yum yum yum, great review Those pizzas look incredible, we are defo making time for VN this year, we skipped out last year as it was at that point that the DxDP was catching up with us

No more DxDDP for us! That part of our trip seemed to revolve far too much about food! ...... and I have to admit it, I did not want to leave any of my credits behind.
The pizzas were really good! They will come pretty close to the ones you will enjoy in Italy!

Hi Karin

Thanks for getting me even more excited about Via Napoli.

I can't wait until May

Oh yes, I did sign up for the FE as well

You are welcome, Linda. Please be prepared, they changed the menu a bit and Nicki wasn't impressed with it any more. We skipped it in February, so I cannot comment on the new menu!

Oh, and you will LOVE the FE!!! First time we cruised we went with a bunch of friends and they introduced us to FEs! We had the most fun ever, sneaking around the ship delivering goodies and whenever we would come back to our cabin there would be something in our FE! Don't forget to bring some magnets to "mark" your stateroom door! We printed ours on magnetic paper and got a lot of comments on it!

Via Napoli looks delicious! How did you like the tour in the Land? We're thinking about doing that one on our next trip.

We really enjoyed the two times we went there last summer!

Oh, and we really enjoyed the "Behind the seeds" tour. Our guide told us that depending on which "guide" you get the tours are a little different. Most of them have a special field, but the main tour stays the same.
So much fun being "part of the show" when you go onstage and the boats go by!
I highly recommend it! There are discounts available, too! AP, DVC, don't know about Disney Visa.

Just wanted to say I have enjoyed your trip report for the past few weeks, and will continue to. Thanks for taking the time to share it this us!!

I am real happy you enjoyed the reviews so far! There are a few more to come! I'll try to hurry up, as I have a whole new set of reviews from our February trip!

 

[dizneeat]

Why didn't I enjoy Via Napoli more? Could it have changed that much since the fall? Or, perhaps, it was an off night for us. I think I've learned one important lesson with this trip: don't both schedule anything super exciting food-wise for your last night, because by then, we had sort of had it with restaurant food.

Your pictures of Via Napoli look so good!

Nicki wasn't that impressed this time around either. We skipped our reservation there in February, so my comment is only on our summer experience and we LOVED it!
I really just hope that you hit it at an off night, because we would really love to go back in the summer - well, we WILL go back!
No more DxDDP though! Yikes, even I was dreading having to go out to eat again!

I have to say Tom's Pizza looked wonderful!! Not that yours didn't but all that wonderful STUFF on a Pizza !!!Both desserts were awesome I would be hard pressed to choose !!!

I do agree, Tom's pizza did look and taste wonderful. I just love pizza with lots of cheese and this one was just up MY street!
Desserts were no problem to choose - I would always go for the one that includes CHOCOLATE!!!!

Via Napoli looked delicious- I booked it for our lunch on the last day before we get the DME this May. I almost got in a quickie 3 night trip in two weeks with T&T...but Pods put the kibash on it. He wants Tyler to go to baseball practice (even though Tyler is injured and really can only run and catch the ball- no throwing, no batting). The 3 of us could fly round trip for $400...and there are studios available we could use our points for...but...Pods is a TAURUS and Tyler HAS TO go to baseball practice!! Anyway.......rant over! Looking forward to more...

Ahhhhhhh, that's a shame that you don't get to go in 2 weeks! I never thought Pods could tell you no on something!
Honestly, it really IS a bummer, with the cheap airfare and points, but at least you get to go in May!
And you get to eat at VN! There are some cute servers too!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 27, September 9

And another Krispy treat

So we left our Italian eatery

and went back to the resort for a little rest.
Our next stop was Port Canaveral to wave goodbye to the WONDERful Disney WONDER!

When we finally left the pier we either needed to rush back to WDW for our reservation at Narcoossee's or enjoy the area for a little longer - to cut the long story short, we cancelled Narcoossee's, spent a little more time at Port Canaveral and went back once it started to get dark.

Later in the evening we thought that some dinner would still be nice and since we were on vacation, why not have dessert first? Especially if the dessert was still hot, sweet and sticky and freshly off the conveyer belt?

So, we ended up at Krispy Kreme again!

We got two dozen - one for us and one for the guards at OKW again!

Tom got some chocolate milk and I had some Diet Coke and we sat down at one of their tables and indulged in these beautiful things!

How much did we actually cost Disney?
54 dining credits
36 snack credits
Via Napoli ...... 87,10 (2 DC ......... 14 DC remain)
2 Refillable Mugs ...... 29,80
Pop Corn Cart ...... 3 (1 snack credits ......... 25 snack credits remain)
Cost altogether ..... 1417,60 $

420$ - 1359 $ = 997,60 $

Next up - Dinner from Wolfgang Puck's Express

 

[Stefy]

Its a shame you cancelled Narcoosee's as its not a bad restaurant. Maybe next time

Yummy KK's though

 

[englishrose47]

I bet the Guards Love you guys !!!

 

[mskayjay]

Just wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed this thread! it is so nice to see other people's experiences at restaurants we liked/disliked to see if we/they got off visits or great ones! Some of the ones you loved, we really were disappointed with (Artist Pointe comes to mind right off as a huge disappointment for us!) and it is always good to see why. Our service there was also off and for a restaurant that costs that much, it is just not okay.....

Have definitely added Via Napoli to the list for the next visit, I *guess* WPE is okay food based on your reviews so that is good to know for DDT, Jiko was a so-so for us, BOMA dinner....we'll skip based on your and other reviews but wow the b'fast there is awesome....

Just overall, this has been lovely reading! Thank you so so much for sharing your experiences and now....I'm off to find the report from your February trip!

 

[dizneeat]

Its a shame you cancelled Narcoosee's as its not a bad restaurant. Maybe next time

Yummy KK's though

Actually we had the worst meal of our 2009 vacation there and really debated about going back.
In the end we decided to give them a second chance, but then when deciding between Krispy Kreme and Narcoossee's, the doughnuts won! ........ and we had something else in mind ........... hm, I wonder if you can guess!

I bet the Guards Love you guys !!!

We got lots of smiles, that's for sure!

Just wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed this thread! it is so nice to see other people's experiences at restaurants we liked/disliked to see if we/they got off visits or great ones! Some of the ones you loved, we really were disappointed with (Artist Pointe comes to mind right off as a huge disappointment for us!) and it is always good to see why. Our service there was also off and for a restaurant that costs that much, it is just not okay.....

Have definitely added Via Napoli to the list for the next visit, I *guess* WPE is okay food based on your reviews so that is good to know for DDT, Jiko was a so-so for us, BOMA dinner....we'll skip based on your and other reviews but wow the b'fast there is awesome....

Just overall, this has been lovely reading! Thank you so so much for sharing your experiences and now....I'm off to find the report from your February trip!

Oh, thank you so much for reading!
I know restaurants can be hit or miss and everyone's palate is different and then coming from Europe that's different again.
And service can make or break it too!

I have to give a word of warning about Via Napoli! This review is from last September and the menu has changed in the meantime. Our friend Nicki went to VN in February during her trip and she was NOT impressed! Maybe an odd night, but just to let you know!

As for WPE ....... hm, yes, maybe, it might .......... hit the spot! It's one of the best restaurants to get value for money when on the DDP and I am SO willing to pay OOP for it too!
Not that I am biased because Wolfgang Puck is Austrian too!

Again, thanks for reading! It means a lot to me that so many people enjoy reading my reviews, even though English is not my first language and there must be quite a few mistakes in it!

Oh, and btw - if you are still looking for my February trip report (dining review to come as soon as this one is finished) there is a list of links - just click the green link in my signature!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 27, September 9

And another late take away dinner from Wolfgang Puck's Express

So once we had eaten dessert, we made our way over to Downtown Disney to spend two more credits on some very late night take-away "dinner".

Since this was a take out, we got two bottles of water and a brownie and a cookie, which we didn't take photos of!

But we also got these ......

Wolfgang's wonderful pockets/sandwiches!

One of the sandwiches was the Pesto Chicken Salad with lots of romaine and plum tomatoes. This is such a nice sandwich - light, because there is lots of salad and tomatoes and on the other hand substantial and filling because of the generous amount of chicken that is mixed in. This is definitely our favourite sandwich!

The other one was the

Rotisserie Turkey Club - avocado, bacon, red onion, plum tomatoes, romaine and remoulade. We enjoyed eating them in front of the TV, I was washing everything down with some Diet Coke and Tom had some

and he really enjoyed it.

How much did we actually cost Disney?
54 dining credits
36 snack credits
WPE ...... 40,80 (2 DC ......... 12 DC remain)
2 Refillable Mugs ...... 29,80
Pop Corn Cart ...... 3 (1 snack credits ......... 25 snack credits remain)
Cost altogether ..... 1458,40 $

420$ - 1458,40 $ = 1038,40 $

Next up - Lunch at surprise Wolfgang Puck's Express

 

[King_Triton]

The KK look great! Thanks to your posts from past reviews, my wife, daughter, and I tried them on our last trip to Disney and thought they were great!! Thanks for sharing that with us!!!

 

[jeminni]

I love WPE takeout to enjoy back in your room.

 

[Swalphin]

Hi Karin,
I opened this thread at 12:05 am, Via Napoli and KK will be in my dreams for sure, yummy. .

 

[dizneeat]

The KK look great! Thanks to your posts from past reviews, my wife, daughter, and I tried them on our last trip to Disney and thought they were great!! Thanks for sharing that with us!!!

Yes, KK is such a treat! I hope you got to go to the shop in Kissimmee where they come hot of the belt - these are the best!
Glad I could pay it forward - I picked up the tip about KK here on the DIS too!

I love WPE takeout to enjoy back in your room.

I love their takeout! Such a treat to take it back to your room and enjoy in front of the TV!

Hi Karin,
I opened this thread at 12:05 am, Via Napoli and KK will be in my dreams for sure, yummy. .

I hope you had sweet (and yummy) dreams!

 

[dizneeat]

Day 28, September 10

Lunch at Wolfgang Puck's Express

Our last full day at WDW was here! No matter how long we stay, it's always a sad day!

So, in the morning we did some laundry and I packed most of our stuff, then we got out our backpack and packed it with something we still had to deliver!

Presents for our favourite CMs from Wolfgang Puck's Express.

We arrived at Downtown Disney shortly after 11am and CJ was no where to be seen, so we ordered, but by the time we were able to pick up our drinks he walked in and we were able to hand him his gifts (we had talked about us going on the Disney cruise before we had left and he had been really excited about going himself one day!), a Bahamian rum cake and some cookies in a small paper container shaped like the Disney Wonder.
He was VERY surprised, but loved his gifts!

We then walked into the dining room, found a table and placed the number on the table and who should walk in? Mariza, our other favourite server/friend at Wolfgang Puck's Express.

We gave her her presents, the same we gave CJ and she was really moved by it. She hugged both of us and we talked for quite some time until we were actually served our food!

Tom had ordered the Meatball & Peppers Wood Fired Pizza - house-made meatballs, mozzarella, fontina and tomato basil-garlic sauce. A very "unusual" combination for us Europeans, but he had had it before and had really liked it, and this time it did not disappoint.

I went for something new .........

the Crispy Chicken Tenders & French Fries. Well, not really something new to me, but a first ordering it at WPE. And boy, was I right to order this! Tender and juicy white meat chicken strips, perfectly fried crispy and brown and herbed fries! What is not to like about that. They served some ranch dressing for dipping and some ketchup to go with the fries with it and it was a simple but delicious meal. Hm, wait a minute - isn't WPE's slogan? Well, that was exactly what it was.

For dessert we both had ordered the same thing .......

Creme Brulee! We really love this creme brulee, smooth, creamy and a sweet stawberry on top!

When we were ready to leave and say goodbye to Mariza, she handed us a Brownie as a little present from her! How sweet is that ....... and by the way, the Brownie was real yummy. Moist and chocolatey!

How much did we actually cost Disney?
54 dining credits
36 snack credits
WPE ...... 44 (2 DC ......... 10 DC remain)
2 Refillable Mugs ...... 29,80
Pop Corn Cart ...... 3 (1 snack credits ......... 25 snack credits remain)
Cost altogether ..... 1502,40 $

420$ - 1458,40 $ = 1082,40 $

Next up - a Garden Grove Snack

 

[Stefy]

Yummy WPE food That was really sweet of you to give the WPE CM's gifts, bet they were well chuffed

 

[Swalphin]

I hate the last day feel.
Your lunch looked great. It is very thoughtful that you and Tom take the time to show the CMs your appreciation. You are both good people!

 

[Phambiton]

Just stumbled upon your trip reports. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! May I ask what software you use, if any, to compile/organize your report (on your website)? Our first trip to WdW will be Feb 2012. Yes, too far away. So the only thing I can do is prepare, prepare...and I need to find a way to capture Disney memories. I find the way you present the information is just captivating and very appealing. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Keep reporting, did I tell you it's awesome?

 

[podsnel]

You are the NICEST people!! Those CMs must have been AMAZED you thought of them on your cruise and brought them back a gift- really, you take nice to a whole different level!