Our
final thoughts on this trip, places we ate, things we experienced, things like
that.
This was a great vacation, well to be honest, it was
the best vacation either of have had, EVER!
We spent 1 day in Animal Kingdom, 2 days at Hollywood Studios, most of 3
days in Epcot and 2 full and 2 half days at Magic Kingdom and had 1 off day. We attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas
Party on the 18th and the Candlelight Processional on Christmas Eve.
We received the Quick Service Dining for free and upgraded to the Deluxe
Dining. We ate at many locations, mostly
Table and Signature. A list of each type
of meal, where it was and the date we ate are listed here.
Counter/Quick service meals
Be Our Guest for Breakfast (12/25)
Be Our Guest for Lunch. (12/18)
Earl of Sandwich (12/17)
Pinocchio Village Haus (12/18)
Table Service meals
50’s PrimeTime Café for Lunch (12/22) & (12/26)
Akershus for breakfast – Buffet (12/24)
Be Our Guest for dinner (12/25)
Biergarten for lunch Buffet (12/24) - This was 2 TS
credits for each because of the Candlelight Processional Package
Chef’s de France for dinner (12/23)
Crystal Palace for breakfast - Buffet (12/27)
Liberty Tree Tavern dinner (12/25)
Hollywood & Vine for Minnie’s Seasonal Dine Buffet
(12/22)
O’hana for Breakfast (12/21)
Rose & Crown (12/20)
Whispering Canyon Café for lunch (12/27)
Yak & Yeti (12/19)
Signature meals
California Grill (12/21)
Cinderella Royal Table for Breakfast (12/18)
Hollywood Brown Derby for dinner (12/19)
Jiko – the Cooking Place (12/17) & (12/26)
Le Cellier for lunch (12/23)
Monsieur Paul for dinner (12/24)
Yachtsman Steakhouse (12/20)
You can review each one if you want by going back thru
the links listed throughout the blog.
Now to the final thoughts and what we liked and didn’t
like.
A lot of pictures of
the foods listed on this installment to help you compare.
Our
overall thoughts: This
was the best vacation, EVER! Yes, there were issues and problems, even some
major issues getting there and when we first arrived until on our way to Jiko
that first day. And yes, there were
issues when we left. Yes, it was an
engagement trip which should be special.
That said, it doesn’t matter about any of that. This was the best trip
either Andrea or David (myself) have ever had anywhere. We are already scheduled to return for our
Honeymoon December 21 – 31, 2017 (as of right now but might do a split between
Disney World and Disneyland but not sure) and even if that trip isn’t as great as
this, it doesn’t matter. We will be in
the most magical place in the whole world.
On our reviews, please understand, these are our
thoughts, experiences, the dishes we received.
We are not foodies and never want to be foodies. We are just average people who enjoy good
food but do not need to know the specifics of a dish to know if we like it. We base it on what we are served and how it
tastes, our service and the total experience that we had. As you can tell by the reviews that even
places we ate at more than once (Jiko – The Cooking Place and 50s PrimeTime Café)
the reviews were different because we had a different experience.
So,
without future waiting, here we go and let’s start with the worst, to get that
out of the way.
The
worst food we had anywhere:
Flatbread
Sausage & Pepperoni pizza at Pinocchio Village Haus.
It tasted like cardboard with some sauce,
pepperoni, sausage and cheese. Not much
flavor at all. This was based on the one
we had. Does that mean that everyone else will have that, no. Someone shared a picture of how good theirs
was and I must say, it looked great.
Worst
Buffet - Hollywood & Vine for dinner. Nothing good except the Eggnog Cheesecake
Worst
Character Meal – For both of use this was an easy one – Minnie’s Holiday Dine
at Hollywood & Vine.
The food was barely okay. The
best thing either of us had there was the Eggnog Cheesecake pieces. The character interaction was good
Worst
Counter service – Pinocchio Village Haus (The Sausage and
Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza, it was like cardboard with some flavor. I do know that others have had good ones but
we didn’t)
Worst
overall Table service location – Chefs de France. Rushed and the food was just okay.
Worst
overall Signature service location – Le Cellier. I know that some people think this is a great
place to eat at but we are voicing our opinion on what we received and the
experience. We both would say that we
could eat at a better location outside the “World” at a place called Long Horn
Steakhouse.
Most
over-rated Signature Service location – Le Cellier. For the same reason, as above, for us, the
worst Signature location we ate at.
Most
over-rated event – Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
(We know that many people love it, but for us it just wasn’t worth the extra
money. Way too crowded, and the snacks
weren’t that good.)
Next up are the Worst and Best at a
Table Service
Worst
Appetizer at a Table Service
Andrea – The
Cheese plate with Raisin and walnut bread at Chefs de France (Most of the
cheeses are too strong and the bread leaves much to be desired)
David - French
Onion Soup at Chefs de France (A puck of cheese, onions crunchy and not a
nice thick broth)
Worst
Entrée at a Table Service
For
both of us it would be hands down Filet de boeuf grill - Grilled tenderloin of beef, in other words a
Filet at Chefs de France (This was thin, tough and not much
flavor, only good part of this was the green peppercorn sauce which more like a
gravy)
Worst
Dessert at a Table Service
Andrea – Traditional
Warm Apple Crisp at 50’s PrimeTime Café (nothing like any crisp she or I
have ever had)
David – No Sugar
Added Cheesecake at 50s PrimeTime Café (No crust and not much of any
flavor)
Best
Appetizer at a Table Service
Andrea – Fried Herb
and Garlic Cheese at 50s PrimeTime Café (It is something she says you just must
try but make sure you get some of each all in one bite and will order again)
David
– Cousin Amy’s Iceburg Lettuce Wedge Salad at 50’s PrimeTime Café
(perfect size, lots of bacon and the blue cheese dressing and crumbles, mmmm
good)
Best
Entrée at a Table Service (not a steak)
Both
of us - the Bhaktapur Duck at Yak & Yeti (she kept trying
to steal this from my plate)
Andrea
– Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken at 50s PrimeTime Cafe
(So moist and juicy and full of flavor)
For
David – The ALL-YOU-CARE-TO ENJOY SKILLET at Whispering Canyon Café (The food was so good and as much as you
wanted. I don’t care if a place has an
all you can eat dish, if the food isn’t good then I don’t want it, but this,
mmm you will want as much as you can eat, might even over eat. Oh, such a dilemma – when to stop before
being too full)
Best
Dessert at a Table Service –
For
both of us – Fried Wontons at Yak & Yeti (incredible but
not enough to share)
Andrea
– The Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake at Be Our Guest (yes
this you can get at the counter service but it was so good that she ordered if
for the Table service and was the best she had at any Table Service)
David
– The Sticky Toffee Pudding at Rose & Crown
(in a word MMMMMMMMMMM)
Now for the Signature Service Locations
Worst
Appetizer at a Signature Service
Andrea
– From the Larder (Charcuterie) at Le Cellier (The meats weren’t
that good, including using the term YUCK!)
David
- the Beef Carpaccio at Hollywood Brown Derby (was not
something I enjoyed at all) The Sonoma
Goat Cheese Ravioli at California Grill (The only good thing about this was
the Goat Cheese)
Worst
Entrée at a Signature Service
Andrea
– Crispy Duck Breast at Hollywood Brown Derby (This
was not crispy at all, had a strange texture and tasted more like a weird
tasting chicken),
The
Signature Coffee Rubbed Black Angus Rib-Eye at Le Cellier (The
first one received had so much fat that when cutting it, it looked like a
butcher had hacked it to pieces. The replacement was much less fatty. It was juicy and tasted ok. Nothing great.
David
– Filet Mignon at Le Cellier (Well, I know that people
love this place but the Filet I had, I could get a better one at a chain called
Long Horn Steakhouse. The rest of the
dish, well YUCK!)
Worst
Dessert at a Signature Service
Andrea
– the Chocolate Mousse at Le Cellier (maybe without the red sesame
tuile and the sesame seeds along with the red stuff it wouldn’t be too bad but
overall not good).
The Honey-Crunch Cake
at California Grill (Weird, strange, the cake tasted more of the oil)
David
– Camenbert Cheesecake at Le Cellier
(Because of the Cherry Galee it made it not a good
cheesecake, without that, it was good)
Best
Appetizer at a Signature Service
Andrea
- the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail at Yachtsman Steak House
(large shrimp, they cut the heads and tails off, had a nice heat).
Braised
Port Tacos at California Grill (The Chipotle Crema made
this very good flavor combination with everything else. She would come here just for these).
The
Romaine lettuce with Roquefort cheese salad at Monsieur Paul
(very interesting flavor combination, would say best salad we tasted).
The
Local Greens Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette at Hollywood Brown Derby
(interesting combination of flavors, loved the Goat Cheese)
David
– The French Onion Soup at Yachtsman Steak House
(such a rich broth, perfect amount of cheese and the onions are so soft and
sweet)
The
Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin at Jiko (So tender and so good,
so creamy)
Best
Entrée at a Signature Service
Both of us –
Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon at Jiko (So tender, you can cut it with a fork like you were
cutting a hamburger patty but so much more flavor)
and at a close second
Grilled Buffalo Ribeye at Jiko (Andrea said id she had not tried the Filet, this would have been her
favorite. It has a different but very
good flavor, tender, moist, mmmmm) These 2 steaks were
by and far, the very best Entrees anywhere on property.
Best
Entrée at a Signature Service (not a steak)
Well this is a
problem as in looking back over everything, it wasn’t that we didn’t order
something other than steak, but for the most part, that is what we ordered and
well, we couldn’t suggest any.
Best
Dessert at a Signature Service
Andrea
– Crown Jewel Sweet Potato Cheesecake at Jiko – The Cooking Place
(Not your typical creamy cheesecake, A different flavor that was not too sweet
and when you tried all the different items together, it was an amazing flavor
combination.
L’ile
flottanted: meringue legere, crème Anglaise a la vinille, raisins macerees au
Rhum, nougatine aux amandes. (Light meringue, vanilla crème Anglaise, rum
infused raisins, almonds nougatine) at Monsieur Paul (loved
the nougatine, she would have loved to have just had that)
David
– Malva Pudding at Jiko – The Cooking Place. (You can read the
review about what all is in it. It was
amazing, not too big and the perfect dessert after the Filet Mignon)
Crème
Brulee at Yachtsman Steakhouse. (If you love Crème Brulee, this was the best
of any I had and it had that ‘crunch’ that is so good to hear)
Le
vacherin: meringue, crème glacee vanilla, sorbet framboise, Chantilly a la
Vanille, coulis de framboises (Meringue, vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet,
vanilla Chantilly, raspberry coulis) at Monsiur Paul
(Loved the combination of the flavors, perfect combination of tart and sweet)
Worst Snack
Both
– Crepes with Strawberry Preserves at Crepes des Chefs de France
(This was a tough, reheated crepe that didn’t have much flavor)
Ham
and Cheese Pretzel at the Lunching Pad (the mustard was the
only thing that saved this)
Best Snack
For
Andrea – Parfait Aux Fruits at Boulangerie des Halles
(the yogurt mousse and strawberry fruit swirl are so good together)
 |
| Parfait Aux Fruits is on the Left |
For
David – Double Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich at Tamu Tamu
(If you can get this when the cookies are still warm, mmm heaven).
The Tarte Aux Fraise at Boulangerie des
Halles (mmm Light flakey crust with the cream and the strawberries, makes
my mouth water even now)
|
| Tarte Aux Fraise is on the Right |
Most fun place to eat
Whispering
Canyon Café (loved everything about this, the
interaction was great)
50s
PrimeTime Café (like being back in the 1950’s)
Best Character Meal
O’hana
for breakfast.
What we must say here is that each of the Character Meals offered a
different and unique experience
Best
Service – Oscar at Yachtsman Steakhouse.
Best
Dining Experience – Jiko
Best
Food – Jiko
Best
Atmosphere – Jiko
Ok,
the best, our number one place to eat at and have the best experience at is Jiko
– The Cooking Place
We will rate the steaks, first Filets, and then other
steaks:
Filets
– in order – Jiko (on 26th), Jiko (17th), Yachtsman, Monsieur
Paul, California Grill (the sauce with the Mornay and the Peperonata made this
score higher than if it was not there), Hollywood Brown Derby, Le Cellier,
Chefs de France (What we received was more like a strip steak than a Filet and
not very good at that)
|
| Jiko on 12/26 |
 |
| Jiko on 12/17 |
 |
| Yachtsman on 12/20 |
 |
| Monsieur Paul on 12/24 |
 |
| California Grill on 12/21 |
 |
| Hollywood Brown Derby on 12/19 |
|
| Le Cellier on 12/23 |
|
| Chefs de France on 12/23 |
Other
steaks – Jiko (the Buffalo Ribeye), Yachtsman (Rib-eye) Rose & Crown, Be
Our Guest, Le Cellier (Rib-eye)
|
| Jiko on 12/26 |
 |
| Yachtsman on 12/20 |
 |
| Rose & Crown on 12/20 |
 |
| Be Our Guest on 12/25 |
|
| Le Cellier on 12/22 |
Jiko, no matter if it’s the Filet or
the Rib-eye, they were the very best we had by far. Yachtsman was still very, very good as was
Monsieur Paul. After that, they dropped.
Hollywood Brown Derby and Rose &
Crown about the same, with Be Our Guest behind those but ahead of Le Cellier
and Chefs de France. We will say, if you
only have one chance to eat a steak at any of these, Jiko or Yachtsman or
Monsieur Paul would be the best picks.
Best
Cast Member
Megan at Pop Century. What she did and how she took a very personal
interest in making sure the proposal would take place without a hitch and then
the Surprise Engagement Package in the room after, priceless.
Chrissy
at Animal Kingdom Lodge in room dining for making sure the cake
was ready at Jiko, that Jiko was prepared and would do what needed to be done
to make it special. Amazing
And so many others.
As you may remember, we used the Deluxe Dining
Plan. We stayed at Pop Century and
received the Quick Service Plan included.
We upgraded to the Deluxe. Here
are the figures
If we had secured a 20% discount on our room, it would
have been under $44 a night x 10 nights for a total of $440
Quick Service plan was $42.84 x 2 x 10 nights for a total
of $856.80 (much better than the room discount)
Deluxe Dining plan was $111.73 x 2 x 10 nights for a
total of $2,234.60
We had to pay an additional $1,377.80 to upgrade to
the Deluxe Dining.
Our total Meals came to $2,814.01 - $320.83 for out of
pocket (counter services, extras and drinks not included in the Deluxe dining
plan) = $2,493.18 (this does not include the tips which were $483.87 moreover.
Our Snacks came to $277.63 - $75.04 for out of pocket
(drinks and other things we didn’t want to use a snack credit on) = $202.59
Meals = $2493.18 + Snacks = $202.59 = $2,695.77 – our upgrade
$1,377.80 = $1,317.97
That
is a savings of $1,317.97. Yes, that
does include getting the free Quick Service amount including in the
savings. So, if you take $1,317.97 - $856.80
= $461.17. So, we still would have saved
$461.67. $1,317.97 vs $461.67, either is
a good savings over 10 nights.
We didn’t always use the credits for the biggest value
– we used a total of 4 TS credits for the 2 of us to go to Biergarten because
we went to the Candle Light Processional package included. If you are only looking at $ signs or the
maximum dollar cost vs Table Service Credit, then that was a bad use of
them. But if you look at what all we
got, we didn’t mind. Besides, what we
did save is still a huge amount. We did
eat at many very nice places, which was our plan. We also didn’t very our ordering versus
outside (here at home) - Appetizers,
Entrees and Desserts, along with drinks (Soda and an occasional glass of wine). We did try somethings we might not have if we
were paying out of pocket, but that would be few things. We would have ordered a lot of steak, well
because, we both love steak.
Something else that I’ve done since we came back to
make sure that each of the Cast members that went above anything we could have
imagined, was suggest to me by Walt Disney World Reservations. I called and explained that I needed to know
how to make a comment about the outstanding Cast Member service we received
while at Disney World on our vacation. I
was told that I had taken this to a whole new level and he suggested I write a
letter and send it to Bob Igar and let him know about the Cast Members and what
they did. So, that is what I have done. I want
to make sure that these Cast Members get acknowledged and it go in their permanent
work history file. I would hope that he
sends each a personalized letter from him letting them know what was told to
him about that Cast Member and how they made a couple have the Best Vacation
EVER! To me, that would be a big deal in
a company like Disney. I will let you
know if I hear anything back from either Disney or from Bob Igar himself.
In conclusion. We loved our vacation. We loved being at Walt Disney World. The service was great. We ate at many Table and Signature
locations. We had some of the best food
we have ever had. We will go back again,
and again and well I’m sure you can figure that out.
Doing the Trip report helped us to relive some amazing
meals and experiences. Yes, they took
much more time than either of us thought they would but as in the one song from
Hercules – “It’s a Work of Heart” We are now engaged, and Simba (David) and
Nala (Andrea) are very happy.
If you are planning a vacation to Walt Disney World, we
only ask that you remember this: You are
one of the lucky ones to be going to the Most Magical Place on Earth – Walt Disney
World. While there make sure to take the
time to truly enjoy where you are at, the vacation and yourselves.
You can even try to live by the slightly altered
version of the Circle of Life, found here:
http://forum.touringplans.com/t/this-should-be-every-liner-and-every-visitors-thinking-when-going-to-the-parks/30500?u=davidjjenkins1961
We look forward to our next Walt Disney Vacation and
hearing about all of yours.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read each
installment.
David (Simba) and
Andrea (Nala)
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