We were at WDW with my parents from 4/30 until today (5/2). They had a 1BR at WLV so they put us in their room for room keys and dining plan. Since my husband was supposed to work and the room had a max capacity of 5, we had: my Dad, my Mom, my Son, my Daughter and me on the DP. A03C02 on the card. But of course we never wound up using the credits in that configuration because my husband did not work, we were often split up, missing someone, etc. since we live here and my kids went to preschool, etc. So we're atypical DP users. But here goes anyway.
Day 1
Lunch -- Roaring Fork -- 1S and 3 CS -- 2 bacon cheeseburgers with fries, 1 turkey and brie sandwich, 1 magic bar, 1 apples with caramel dip, 1 Mickey dipped krispie treat, 1 Mickey ice cream bar. Food was OK, very standard food court but the burgers were not as good as remembered. Sandwich had too much mayo for me and I don't think it could be ordered without since it was premade. Not a very uplifting seating area, too dark in my opinion. $34 to DDP.
Dinner -- Whispering Canyon Cafe -- 4 TS -- 3 skillets, 1 nacho, 1 NY strip steak, 2 caramel apple pies, 3 chocolate shakes (which was actually 8 because they're bottomless -- woo hoo!) and 1 iced tea. The shakes were fabulous, the service was cheerful and sweet. I had originally ordered a nacho for an appetizer with my skillet but she came back after we ordered and told me that with the plan, one could not get an appetizer with the skillet as it includes salad and coleslaw as appetizers -- to be fair the salad is also offered as an appetizer on the menu. I don't know if this was new, because I've heard it before on the boards, but she took my order and then had to come back, so she obviously wasn't sure either. However before she came back my Mom's nacho came out and it looked disgusting so I did not need to pay for another nacho anyway. The waitress handed this restriction very well though, with a friendly attitude and some discretion, coming directly to me instead of standing over the table. I just wish the food was more likeable! The ribs in the skillet were terrible and the the nacho was dry chips with runny chili over them. The strip steak was the worst, more than 50% grizzle. I didn't know why my Mom did not complain about this but when I asked her later, she said she was too full from all the milkshakes! She and I each had 3. We really didn't need more food
. Also the salad with the skillet was awesome as usual and we ate three bowls of that. We usually all share with the kids -- this time just my mom shared her nacho and steak meal, we didn't share the skillet as that would not be kosher since the kids didn't order or pay for it. By rights the kids should have had to pay for their milkshakes since they had a lot, but the waitress waved her hand when I mentioned that and we were not charged. There was plenty of food and my kids always want what we have anyway, so we just ignore the kids menus except to color on . Shakes counted as drinks, no questions, and for most of us that meant we just plain didn't want dessert, for there or to go -- too stuffed. $154 to DDP.
Day 2
Breakfast -- Roaring Fork -- 1CS 1S -- 1 yogurt parfait, 2 blueberry muffins, 1 coffee -- yogurt parfait was made-to-order with honeyed yogurt, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and granola -- not as large as you might think but very high-quality. Muffins were like coffee cakes and great too. Probably not the best use of a CS but hey. $11 to DDP.
Lunch -- Pinnochio's Village Haus -- 2 CS -- 1 turkey (with no bacon) panini w/fries, 1 sub w/fries, 2 chocolate shakes and 2 Cokes. Shakes here were counted as desserts. I wanted Figaro Fries, which she said counted as an entree, so I declined that one time getting them because I was getting a shake anyway! My mom and I felt the need to compare them to the WCC shakes!! However they had the snack icons by most of the sides and desserts and I thought I saw it next to the Figaro Fries, but I'm not sure. Way too loud in there to argue anyway. As usual my panini took over 10 minutes since it was a special order w/o bacon, and as usual it was worth the wait. That's a fabulous sandwich that contains actual vegetables (and basil). Shakes were great. Lots of liquids in the middle of a hot day too, ordering that way. Sub was just OK. Fries were cold but I was too happy with my sandwich and shake to care. Actually they were probably cold because after I had my food, it took me almost 10 minutes to get a table. People without trays kept running in front of me to reserve a table for their family. But, since I knew my sandwich would be a while, I sent my family to it's a small world while I got all the food myself and I therefore did not have a table reserved. This table-cruising-saving was highly unenjoyable and it makes people just brutal. When we got up, two dads were fighting over our table and who got there first. $29 to DDP.
Dinner -- California Grill -- 6 TS plus $70 OOP -- 1 soft-shell crab roll, 1 three-cheese flatbread, 1 Caesar salad (actually called something fancy but it was a Caesar salad), 2 filets, 1 lamb chops, 1 deluxe sushi platter, 2 chocolate lava cakes, 1 apple tarte, 1 banana napoleon. This was good but not great; some disappointing things were going on. The menu was like completely scaled down. There was only one variety of flatbread and four sushi choices other than the platter -- all cheaper rolls (and the roll we got was $15 for 4 pieces. Ouch!) We asked our server what was up and he said that something was going around with the kitchen staff to the point where they were severely short-staffed and barely able to operate. They only had two people left on sushi and were really shuffling things, so they cut several items off the menu. Yikes. I am weird because even though they removed it from the menu three years ago, I have always ordered the makunochi plate (very elegantly served sushi, huge plate, I think last time it was $36). I asked for it and for only the second time was declined (the first time the waitress was just unwilling to ask). He did ask Yoshie but she just couldn't do it with the staff situation. The platter was OK, really more of an appetizer to me but luckily I wasn't starving anyway. Also they had a different bread than the foccacia, something drier and presumably easier to make. Anyway, all the food we had was great except the filets, which were not as good as in the past, in terms of preparation, though the meat quality was fine. I would assume that was a staffing thing too. I hope this place comes back around soon. I know that the menu on the web, or the menu you saw last week, is not guaranteed to be served that night, but it was a little disappointing to get less choices and smaller portions of less well-prepared food than we were expecting, especially with the 2 TS charge. What to do though -- our server was soooo nice and very helpful when I got a bit sick from a migraine partway through the meal. We had some wine and scotch, and also paid for the fourth entree and dessert, using our DDE of course. $221 to DDP, $70 OOP with tip.
Day 3
Breakfast -- Roaring Fork -- 8 S -- 6 blueberry muffins and 4 Mickey krispie treats. I have no idea how the math worked here. My mom went on her own and took six muffins to the counter, saying she wanted to use up all her snack credits. The cashier apparently told her to grab 4 of the Mickey treats. I have no idea how that worked but whatever. We brought the treats home. The muffins there were fabulous, again. $18 to DDP?
Lunch -- Wolfgang Puck's Express-Marketplace -- 4 CS plus $2 OOP -- 1 chicken Caesar sandwich, 1 pepperoni pizza, 1 BBQ chicken quesadilla, 1 chicken lasagna with chicken added, 1 creme brulee, 1 brownie, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 banana, 2 Cokes, 2 iced teas. Fabulous food made to order, wonderful people who helped us and got us refills, etc. Whenever we eat here, we notice how many people in line are wearing WDW cast badges (although many of them are getting to-go). This place is a real gem. The guy who took my order was the manager and he told me right off that the meatloaf and ravioli are excluded (they are $10.95), that you get a fountain drink and any dessert for your credit. He was so nice and very reasonable. I asked if we could get extra chicken for the lasagna and he said he had to ring it up separately (hence the $2) but he went around to the kitchen to explain the separate tickets and it came out perfectly. My parents took my kids to the seating area while my husband and I ordered and brought drinks, and the runners helped my daughter get settled with the highchair, brought her some chips to munch on during the wait, etc. Fruit salad, which was once a dessert, has been physically moved on the menu to be under "Salads" so there's no confusion, it's just not a dessert choice. You want it, it's an entree or pay $4.95. Hey, they moved it, it's simple, no ambiguity. The food was all fantastic. Best CS and it was much better food than WCC (although they didn't have milkshakes -- darn -- no 3 days in a row of milkshakes for us). While we were sitting there a little boy nearby was refusing to eat the pizza his dad bought to share with him and the runner asked if it was OK to bring the boy a chicken strip. When he liked it, the runner brought more. They are just nice there and the food is great. I would not miss this place on the plan. Off the plan, it is a little expensive maybe, but you cannot beat that level of service for a CS. It was even a piece of cake to get a table. Wait, no the place was horrible and don't go there. Just kidding. $51 to DDP, $2 OOP.
We spent about $500 on DDP. Probably 90% of that food, we would have ordered anyway. Because of the kids, the plan cost us about $270. Soon my kids will be old enough to want their own plates, and then it will be more like an even deal. Right now it's a great value, even if you consider that with DDE we would get 20% off our TS meals if paying OOP (in this case $75). It will still be a good value once the kids do order their own food. On the other hand, we eat like this everywhere because I am trying to control my portions and they help me do that!
We had fabulous service, waited less than five minutes for tables at dinners, (with ADRs of course) and any "restrictions" of the plan were well-explained up front and more than reasonable IMO.
I do hope those CG CMs get feeling better soon so they can get their restaurant up and running again at full capacity! Also I won't be rushing back to WCC again soon. We have always enjoyed eating there but the quality was pretty poor this night. Again, yes we could have complained but we were too full from milkshakes to reasonably eat our dinners anyway and we left fat and happy.
Sorry so long, shoot any questions if you have them.
Day 1
Lunch -- Roaring Fork -- 1S and 3 CS -- 2 bacon cheeseburgers with fries, 1 turkey and brie sandwich, 1 magic bar, 1 apples with caramel dip, 1 Mickey dipped krispie treat, 1 Mickey ice cream bar. Food was OK, very standard food court but the burgers were not as good as remembered. Sandwich had too much mayo for me and I don't think it could be ordered without since it was premade. Not a very uplifting seating area, too dark in my opinion. $34 to DDP.
Dinner -- Whispering Canyon Cafe -- 4 TS -- 3 skillets, 1 nacho, 1 NY strip steak, 2 caramel apple pies, 3 chocolate shakes (which was actually 8 because they're bottomless -- woo hoo!) and 1 iced tea. The shakes were fabulous, the service was cheerful and sweet. I had originally ordered a nacho for an appetizer with my skillet but she came back after we ordered and told me that with the plan, one could not get an appetizer with the skillet as it includes salad and coleslaw as appetizers -- to be fair the salad is also offered as an appetizer on the menu. I don't know if this was new, because I've heard it before on the boards, but she took my order and then had to come back, so she obviously wasn't sure either. However before she came back my Mom's nacho came out and it looked disgusting so I did not need to pay for another nacho anyway. The waitress handed this restriction very well though, with a friendly attitude and some discretion, coming directly to me instead of standing over the table. I just wish the food was more likeable! The ribs in the skillet were terrible and the the nacho was dry chips with runny chili over them. The strip steak was the worst, more than 50% grizzle. I didn't know why my Mom did not complain about this but when I asked her later, she said she was too full from all the milkshakes! She and I each had 3. We really didn't need more food
. Also the salad with the skillet was awesome as usual and we ate three bowls of that. We usually all share with the kids -- this time just my mom shared her nacho and steak meal, we didn't share the skillet as that would not be kosher since the kids didn't order or pay for it. By rights the kids should have had to pay for their milkshakes since they had a lot, but the waitress waved her hand when I mentioned that and we were not charged. There was plenty of food and my kids always want what we have anyway, so we just ignore the kids menus except to color on . Shakes counted as drinks, no questions, and for most of us that meant we just plain didn't want dessert, for there or to go -- too stuffed. $154 to DDP.Day 2
Breakfast -- Roaring Fork -- 1CS 1S -- 1 yogurt parfait, 2 blueberry muffins, 1 coffee -- yogurt parfait was made-to-order with honeyed yogurt, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and granola -- not as large as you might think but very high-quality. Muffins were like coffee cakes and great too. Probably not the best use of a CS but hey. $11 to DDP.
Lunch -- Pinnochio's Village Haus -- 2 CS -- 1 turkey (with no bacon) panini w/fries, 1 sub w/fries, 2 chocolate shakes and 2 Cokes. Shakes here were counted as desserts. I wanted Figaro Fries, which she said counted as an entree, so I declined that one time getting them because I was getting a shake anyway! My mom and I felt the need to compare them to the WCC shakes!! However they had the snack icons by most of the sides and desserts and I thought I saw it next to the Figaro Fries, but I'm not sure. Way too loud in there to argue anyway. As usual my panini took over 10 minutes since it was a special order w/o bacon, and as usual it was worth the wait. That's a fabulous sandwich that contains actual vegetables (and basil). Shakes were great. Lots of liquids in the middle of a hot day too, ordering that way. Sub was just OK. Fries were cold but I was too happy with my sandwich and shake to care. Actually they were probably cold because after I had my food, it took me almost 10 minutes to get a table. People without trays kept running in front of me to reserve a table for their family. But, since I knew my sandwich would be a while, I sent my family to it's a small world while I got all the food myself and I therefore did not have a table reserved. This table-cruising-saving was highly unenjoyable and it makes people just brutal. When we got up, two dads were fighting over our table and who got there first. $29 to DDP.
Dinner -- California Grill -- 6 TS plus $70 OOP -- 1 soft-shell crab roll, 1 three-cheese flatbread, 1 Caesar salad (actually called something fancy but it was a Caesar salad), 2 filets, 1 lamb chops, 1 deluxe sushi platter, 2 chocolate lava cakes, 1 apple tarte, 1 banana napoleon. This was good but not great; some disappointing things were going on. The menu was like completely scaled down. There was only one variety of flatbread and four sushi choices other than the platter -- all cheaper rolls (and the roll we got was $15 for 4 pieces. Ouch!) We asked our server what was up and he said that something was going around with the kitchen staff to the point where they were severely short-staffed and barely able to operate. They only had two people left on sushi and were really shuffling things, so they cut several items off the menu. Yikes. I am weird because even though they removed it from the menu three years ago, I have always ordered the makunochi plate (very elegantly served sushi, huge plate, I think last time it was $36). I asked for it and for only the second time was declined (the first time the waitress was just unwilling to ask). He did ask Yoshie but she just couldn't do it with the staff situation. The platter was OK, really more of an appetizer to me but luckily I wasn't starving anyway. Also they had a different bread than the foccacia, something drier and presumably easier to make. Anyway, all the food we had was great except the filets, which were not as good as in the past, in terms of preparation, though the meat quality was fine. I would assume that was a staffing thing too. I hope this place comes back around soon. I know that the menu on the web, or the menu you saw last week, is not guaranteed to be served that night, but it was a little disappointing to get less choices and smaller portions of less well-prepared food than we were expecting, especially with the 2 TS charge. What to do though -- our server was soooo nice and very helpful when I got a bit sick from a migraine partway through the meal. We had some wine and scotch, and also paid for the fourth entree and dessert, using our DDE of course. $221 to DDP, $70 OOP with tip.
Day 3
Breakfast -- Roaring Fork -- 8 S -- 6 blueberry muffins and 4 Mickey krispie treats. I have no idea how the math worked here. My mom went on her own and took six muffins to the counter, saying she wanted to use up all her snack credits. The cashier apparently told her to grab 4 of the Mickey treats. I have no idea how that worked but whatever. We brought the treats home. The muffins there were fabulous, again. $18 to DDP?
Lunch -- Wolfgang Puck's Express-Marketplace -- 4 CS plus $2 OOP -- 1 chicken Caesar sandwich, 1 pepperoni pizza, 1 BBQ chicken quesadilla, 1 chicken lasagna with chicken added, 1 creme brulee, 1 brownie, 1 chocolate chip cookie, 1 banana, 2 Cokes, 2 iced teas. Fabulous food made to order, wonderful people who helped us and got us refills, etc. Whenever we eat here, we notice how many people in line are wearing WDW cast badges (although many of them are getting to-go). This place is a real gem. The guy who took my order was the manager and he told me right off that the meatloaf and ravioli are excluded (they are $10.95), that you get a fountain drink and any dessert for your credit. He was so nice and very reasonable. I asked if we could get extra chicken for the lasagna and he said he had to ring it up separately (hence the $2) but he went around to the kitchen to explain the separate tickets and it came out perfectly. My parents took my kids to the seating area while my husband and I ordered and brought drinks, and the runners helped my daughter get settled with the highchair, brought her some chips to munch on during the wait, etc. Fruit salad, which was once a dessert, has been physically moved on the menu to be under "Salads" so there's no confusion, it's just not a dessert choice. You want it, it's an entree or pay $4.95. Hey, they moved it, it's simple, no ambiguity. The food was all fantastic. Best CS and it was much better food than WCC (although they didn't have milkshakes -- darn -- no 3 days in a row of milkshakes for us). While we were sitting there a little boy nearby was refusing to eat the pizza his dad bought to share with him and the runner asked if it was OK to bring the boy a chicken strip. When he liked it, the runner brought more. They are just nice there and the food is great. I would not miss this place on the plan. Off the plan, it is a little expensive maybe, but you cannot beat that level of service for a CS. It was even a piece of cake to get a table. Wait, no the place was horrible and don't go there. Just kidding. $51 to DDP, $2 OOP.
We spent about $500 on DDP. Probably 90% of that food, we would have ordered anyway. Because of the kids, the plan cost us about $270. Soon my kids will be old enough to want their own plates, and then it will be more like an even deal. Right now it's a great value, even if you consider that with DDE we would get 20% off our TS meals if paying OOP (in this case $75). It will still be a good value once the kids do order their own food. On the other hand, we eat like this everywhere because I am trying to control my portions and they help me do that!
We had fabulous service, waited less than five minutes for tables at dinners, (with ADRs of course) and any "restrictions" of the plan were well-explained up front and more than reasonable IMO.
I do hope those CG CMs get feeling better soon so they can get their restaurant up and running again at full capacity! Also I won't be rushing back to WCC again soon. We have always enjoyed eating there but the quality was pretty poor this night. Again, yes we could have complained but we were too full from milkshakes to reasonably eat our dinners anyway and we left fat and happy
.Sorry so long, shoot any questions if you have them.
