40 is a FANTASY! Chunkeymonkey & Chubbyhubby STAR WARS cruise and POLY Feb 2016 TR Link Added!!

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my new Pre-Trip Report!

That's me, Su-Lynn on the left, and my DH, Steve, on the right.

If you've followed along from my May 2015 Disney Magic Cruise and WDW Feed the Force TRs, you'll know that we've booked a new trip for 2016 to celebrate my (our) 40th Birthday(s)!

Here's the plan for our trip which is from February 19-March 5th 2016:

February 19th: Fly down from NJ to Orlando, spend a night at the Hyatt Regency at MCO
February 20-27th: Set forth to Port Canaveral where we will embark on a 7-night Western Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Fantasy with Star Wars Day at Sea! We'll be visiting Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Castaway Cay! So excited!
February 27-March 5th: Journey to Walt Disney World for 7 nights at the Polynesian Village in a Standard View Deluxe Studio which I booked by renting DVC points.
March 5th: Fly home to NJ (Boo)

That's about 2 weeks of fun, which is the longest time I've been in a Disney environment!
My 40th birthday falls right when we depart the cruise and arrive at WDW: February 27th! I can't think of a better way to ring in 40 than to go to the one place I can act like the biggest kid!

Cast of Characters:

ME: Su-Lynn (on the right), aka Chunkymonkey. Avid Disney-lover, travel blogger, and a fan all things Hawaiian/Polynesian (hence insane love for the Poly). I've been to WDW countless of times, as well as DLR (but not for a few years), and Tokyo Disneyland when I was young and living in Japan (I have to go back!). I work in the IT department of a bank where I am a business analyst/project manager but my real love is traveling and eating especially to Hawaii and Disney! My favorite park is Epcot, favorite show is Fantasmic!, favorite quick service is Be Our Guest, and favorite table service is Ohana. My favorite rides are 7DMT, BTMRR, Soarin', Test Track, TSMM, and the great non-thrilling Peoplemover! My favorite characters seem to change all the time but my latest favorite is Baymax!

DH: Steve (on the left), aka Chubbyhubby. He is married to me so he has to love Disney, right? LOL. We've been married for close to 7 years (in November!). He also works in a bank and turns 40 two months before I do! His birthday actually is the day Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out so he already knows what we're doing for his birthday. I feel like this trip next year is a celebration for the both of us since his birthday is very close to Christmas and we're always busy with family commitments to really go on a vacation. His favorite ride is Toy Story Midway Mania, his favorite table service is Ohana and Garden Grill.

We live in New Jersey where we bought our first house, but I've always considered New York City to be my home since I grew up there and lived there for over 30 years. If you ask me where I'm from I always say New York, not New Jersey!

Joining us for the cruise portion of the trip is non other than my dear sister, Chunkysis!

Younger sister: Su-Queen, aka Chunkysis. (From now on she'll be known as CS). If you've read my trip reports before you'll know she LOVES character pictures. She will go out of her way and stay longer in a park just to get pictures with every character. Do not get in the way of her mission! She also has secret teleportation powers and love to dress up for the parks so she can look her best in character pics. She's 34 years old and works as an assistant manager of a large copy and print center. This will be her first cruise! She will only be taking a week of vacation in February so she had her choice of the cruise or the parks. Since she had never done a cruise before, and I raved about our last cruise on the Magic, she selected the cruise on the Fantasy! I think she's gonna have a great time, and she doesn't have to travel all over the parks to get her character pictures! Her favorite restaurant is Be Our Guest and Ohana too!

This was the 3 of us at Star Wars Weekends this past May


Trip Background:

DH and I were on the Disney Magic in May of this year and had an amazing time. We kept seeing the commercials on the stateroom TVs for the Star Wars Day at Sea for cruises in 2016, and since we're big Star Wars fans, we we bit the bullet and put down a deposit for the February 20th Western Caribbean sailing on the Fantasy, with a discount for on board booking. It will be our 2nd DCL cruise and the Fantasy looks like an amazing ship! Since the cruise ends on my birthday, I decided it would be nice to end the trip with a stay at WDW.

Originally we were going to go the week before the cruise (President's week) but since I've read on every single website that it's super crowded and to AVOID that week, I've changed our plans and we're now going to the parks after the cruise. That's fine with me!

Since it was my birthday I opted to splurge at the Poly but the regular Magic Your Way packages were insanely expensive and no discounts were released yet. Since my 180 day mark to make ADRs comes at the end of August, I needed to book something fast. I opted to rent DVC points to lower the cost of the trip and ended up paying less than half of what our trip was originally to cost!

I need to figure out what park tickets I want (to park hop or not, or annual passes?), the ADRs I want, flights to book, FP+, shore excursions...hence a PTR is needed to jot down my thoughts and get some much-needed advice from DIS-ers!

Thank you and hope you're along for my Fantastical Journey to 40!!

My favorite pic taken this year in May!​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Table of Contents

• Introduction and Cast
  
• Cruise Planning - Itinerary and Stateroom
  
• Tentative Park Plans for WDW based on crowd calendars
  
• ADR Wish List Part 1: Restaurants we love!
  
• Some D23 Expo News and John Williams Concerts
  
• Flights Booked!
  
• ADR Wish List Part 2: New Restaurants! 180 day mark is tomorrow!!
  
• First round of ADRs Booked!
  
• News on Morimoto and Jock Lindsey's. Cruise MDR rotation request.
  
• Some News on Star Wars stuff, Season of the Force, Morimoto Asia and Jock Lindsey meal plans.
  
• Star Wars Day at Sea Merchandise Pre-Order!
  
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens Ticket Pre-Order Headache
  
• Our Anniversary, Halloween, a trip to Hawaii, and Club Villain
  
• Mini TR: Honolulu, Hawaii Part 1
  
• Mini TR: Honolulu, Hawaii Part 2
  
• PTR Update 11/24 - Star Wars Tidbits, Park Tickets, Cruise Updates!
  
• Mini TR: Honolulu, Hawaii Part 3
  
• The Force Awakens and DH's 40th Bday
• PTR Update 1/6: Park Plans and FP+!
• PTR Update 1/13: Star Wars Day at Sea!!
• PTR Update 1/20: SWDAS Dinner Menu, Trip Shopping, Door Decor
• PTR Update 1/21: 30 Day mark! Memory Maker and cruise picture package purchased!
• PTR Update 2/3: Less than 3 weeks left! Outfit choices and F&G Festival News!
• PTR Update 2/9: Single Digits!!
• PTR Update 2/17: Pre-Birthday Celebrations!
• WE LEAVE TOMORROW!!

 

[HippoHappy]

Excited to follow along!
A cruise and a trip to WDW!? What a great way to celebrate your birthday(s)!
Can't wait to read more.

 

[chunkymonkey]

OK, so check one thing off the to-do list: The cruise is booked!

Initially it was just myself and DH. We booked the cruise on our last night of our May 2015 Cruise on the Magic. We were able to get a 10% on board booking discount as well as some increased on board credits. It's still a pricy cruise but I absolutely loved our experience on the Magic so I thought it was worth it to experience a bigger and newer ship (although I think I will miss the more intimate and smaller Magic). It may be a while before we get to cruise again but I only turn 40 once...so a Disney cruise was the way to celebrate! What drew me in was the Star Wars Day at Sea. It sounds like it'll be a condensed Star Wars Weekend celebration complete with fireworks and characters. We had an amazing time at Star Wars Weekends this year! (read my TR here) so I can't wait to experience this on a ship!

Here's our 7-night itinerary:

The Star Wars Day at Sea will be on Day 5 of the cruise from what I'm told.

To have Star Wars Day at Sea, they had to remove one of the ports from the regular Western Caribbean cruise, so Falmouth, Jamaica was left off the itinerary.
I've been to Jamaica before so it wasn't a big deal to me. I'd much rather have an entire day devoted to Star Wars! The only thing that concerns me about this trip is that it's in February. Not sure how rocky the ship will be during that time of year but let me tell you in May, we were spoiled by the calmest ocean waters. I barely felt the boat move and I am prone to sea-sickness! I better stock up on the Bonine.

On the Magic we were in Category 5C rooms, which were Deluxe Oceanview Staterooms with Verandah. Our room was 6118 to be exact - Deck 6, portside, aft. It was amazing to be able to walk outside on your own balcony and watch the endless ocean. I decided that a verandah would be the way to go for our next cruise too! So we were booked into the same category rooms on the Fantasy, but closer to mid-ship and on deck 7 (the Fantasy has more decks).

My sister, who had met up with us at WDW after the cruise, had heard me rave and rave about Disney Cruise Line, and she really wanted to go, however she had just quit her job and so she couldn't justify going on vacation until she got another job. Well, within the last month and a half she got an offer for a new and better paying job, so she said she was ready to go on the cruise! So I called up my travel agent and added my sister. Because she was in the same stateroom, she also got to take advantage of the discount as well.

3 adults to a stateroom sounds a little too close for comfort IMO, but it is the only way my sister could afford to go - no one else could really make it and her friends are not into Disney as much as she is. So, as a compromise, I decided to upgrade to the Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah, a category 4D. We are now in room 6592 - Deck 6, midship, starboard. It was not that much more to upgrade when you split it amongst the 3 of us and I think we would all enjoy a few more sq feet of space after a week in close quarters. Now my character-loving sister can celebrate my birthday with me too! Yay!

Here's a picture of the Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah from the Disney Cruise website:

I can't wait to be here!
​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Excited to follow along!
A cruise and a trip to WDW!? What a great way to celebrate your birthday(s)!
Can't wait to read more.

Yay my first visitor on my PTR! Thanks for reading!!
I know, right? It's probably the WDW trip of a lifetime! Who knows when I'll be able to take such a trip again!

 

[soniam]

You are so going to love the Fantasy. We were in a deluxe verandah (regular, not family since it's only DH, DS9, and me) on Fantasy deck 8 aft in July/August 2014. It's a beautiful ship. The SW days will be so cool. Since it's all adults, definitely go to the coffee bar (Cove Cafe) in the adult section back toward the gym and spa. They have great coffees (pay unfortunately), but they also have free snacks during the day, ie cheese, fruit, veggies/dip, upscale desserts. I have also heard really good things about the rainforest (I think) experience. You can do it for a day or the whole cruise. I haven't done it, but I definitely want to on our next cruise. The 40th is the perfect time for such a trip. DH and I both turned 40 within 6 months of each other. We celebrated by going to Barcelona for a week, just us, no kiddo. We did a cruise on our honeymoon; best decision ever Looking forward to reading me. These reports are getting me antsy to start my PTR for our June 2016 SWW trip, but it's still so far out. I have booked the hotel though; I have no idea why I did it so early

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hmm, which parks on which day...

Park hours to date have only been released for the first half of our trip. I'm not too concerned with the hours as much as I am with the crowd calendar and I tend to stay away from parks with EMH unless I can really wake up early or go really late at night. I've been monitoring crowd calendars it on different sites. This helps me plan which park to chose on which day. But in all honestly, my favorite parks are Epcot and MK so I just HAVE to start our trip off with these two parks, right? I will most likely get park hoppers. I've always had them and I like the flexibility it gives us. Not sure if I should get an annual pass or not. But that is another post!

I also didn't realize it but the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival begins while we are there (March 2nd)! This is great as DH loved the F&G exhibits this year. Since we've moved to a house, we have our own little garden and Steve has been growing all sorts of edible things...herbs, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, watermelon, even corn! He has a new found love for Living with the Land and we literally went on it about 5 times in May! I didn't realize it started so early but it really is exciting news and I can eat around the World Showcase again! Another reason I'm glad I moved the land portion of our trip to after the cruise!


Here's the tentative crowd calendar for our days from touringplans.com (I have a subscription):

Saturday, Feb 27th (my birthday!): We arrive back at Port Canaveral at 7am. We will have a leisurely breakfast on the ship before disembarkation probably around 9:30am. My sister will have to return to the airport because she has to go back to NJ (she only got a week off from work) while we are headed to the Poly! I think I may do what we did last time. Since we were traveling with family and they had to return to the airport, we'll head back to MCO with my sister and then take an ME bus from there! It's always fun to start the trip off with Magical Express! We'll get settled into our new digs, unpack, maybe do laundry if needed, and a dip in the volcano pool and a drink at Trader Sam's!

Hello Polynesian. I've missed you!

According to the crowd calendar, Epcot is the park to visit today. I think i will do Epcot first, then park hop to MK in the night. I want to book a nice birthday dinner, and I'm thinking of Victoria and Alberts if I can get a reservation, if not, then maybe my favorite, Ohana or maybe we'll try California Grill. Then we will go to MK from there! It would be really awesome to get a picture in front of the castle and watch Wishes on my actual birthday!

Wishes!!


Sunday, Feb 28th: Looks like both Epcot and MK have the lowest crowds again for today. DHS also has EMH. If we can get up early enough then we may go but I am tempted to just sleep in and have a delicious breakfast at Ohana instead, then head over to MK for some daytime MK fun! A pool break will probably be needed and I'd like to head to the Epcot area for some dinner and maybe to watch Illuminations. Not sure if we'll make this a really heavy park hopping day, depending on how late we happen to stay up the night before!

We just love Epcot!

Monday, Feb 29th: It's a leap year! How cool is that? I guess this means the parks will be more crowded? Looks like it will be the most crowded day of our trip, except for Epcot, but I'm tempted to save that for later on in our trip when the F and G festival is happening. I think we may do DHS today and then go to Disney Springs (I still think of it as DTD). I hope the new Indiana Jones-themed restaurant will be open and fully operating. It would be fun to have a meal there.

I hope you can still meet Baymax somewhere at WDW, I just love him!

The rest of these days don't have park hours released yet so they are just estimates. My selections will probably change as the crowd calendars change and new EMH are released!

Tuesday, March 1st: Looks like we'll head to AK today. Usually AK is a half day park for us, and we end up having a big meal at Tusker House and getting really full and need a nap right after! Think we'll head back to the Poly and get in some pool time. We may head to MK for some evening fun. I love being on a monorail resort! It's so easy to just head to MK at any time.

It's always fun meeting Safari Mickey and Minnie!

Wednesday, March 2nd: Today is the start of Flower and Garden at Epcot! So today will be an Epcot day. We'll probably start and end at Epcot. I'd like to eat at Garden Grill for their new breakfast offering on this trip so maybe we'll do that. Then for late lunch/early dinner we'll just eat around the World Showcase!

I love me some frushi!

Thursday, March 3rd: Today we will probably start out at DHS and then maybe end up at MK or even back at Epcot for more F and G fun. I love Epcot and never tire of it. Epcot Epcot all the time! I would like to do Garden Grill for dinner again so maybe we'll do it today. We had an amazing meal there this year!

Fun at the Garden Grill!

Friday, March 4th: Our last full day at WDW! Sad I know. We usually end up at MK on our last day so that's probably what we'll do today! Not sure where our last meal will be but I would like to eat at BoG for dinner if I can score an ADR!

The interior ballroom of Be Our Guest

Saturday, March 5th: This is the day we'll fly home. Depending on what time I get our flights, we may grab one last breakfast at Kona Cafe! I was thinking of doing this as a park day since it's a Saturday, but at this point we'll have been away for 2 weeks and although I could stay at WDW forever, I'm sure my family will be sick of shoveling our driveway by now (remember it is still February temps in the Northeast!) so we'll have to head back and prepare ourselves to get ready for work on Monday. At least we'll still have Sunday to rest!

One last bite of Tonga toast before we leave!

So that's my tentative plan for now, what do you think?
...it will most likely change within the next 200 days!
Picking parks and ADRS is always the hardest part! Anyone have any good ideas?

Coming up I will talk about park tickets, and all the ADRs that I want to make​

 

[chunkymonkey]

You are so going to love the Fantasy. We were in a deluxe verandah (regular, not family since it's only DH, DS9, and me) on Fantasy deck 8 aft in July/August 2014. It's a beautiful ship. The SW days will be so cool. Since it's all adults, definitely go to the coffee bar (Cove Cafe) in the adult section back toward the gym and spa. They have great coffees (pay unfortunately), but they also have free snacks during the day, ie cheese, fruit, veggies/dip, upscale desserts. I have also heard really good things about the rainforest (I think) experience. You can do it for a day or the whole cruise. I haven't done it, but I definitely want to on our next cruise. The 40th is the perfect time for such a trip. DH and I both turned 40 within 6 months of each other. We celebrated by going to Barcelona for a week, just us, no kiddo. We did a cruise on our honeymoon; best decision ever Looking forward to reading me. These reports are getting me antsy to start my PTR for our June 2016 SWW trip, but it's still so far out. I have booked the hotel though; I have no idea why I did it so early

Hiii! Good to see you here! I know I will love the Fantasy! It sounds like a beautiful ship that has all the bells and whistles! I will most definitely be hitting up Cove Cafe as I like to have my latte every day and thanks for the tip on the free snacks! And that Rainforest pass...sounds like a dream!

I don't think June 2016 is too early to start a PTR! I'd be looking forward to your SWW plans! Sad we won't be there for SWW next year but will get our SW fix on the cruise I guess, and then live vicariously through your PTR, hahaha.

 

[soniam]

Hmm, which parks on which day...​

That time of year things should be pretty decent. I don't think you can go wrong.

​

I also didn't realize it but the​

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival​

begins while we are there (March 2nd)!​

We really enjoyed it too on our Spring Break trip, especially the food booths. That's what got me to thinking that I want to do Food & Wine in a couple of years for my 45th

​

Saturday, Feb 27th (my birthday!): We arrive back at Port Canaveral at 7am. We will have a leisurely breakfast on the ship before disembarkation probably around 9:30am. ​

They booted us off the ship last summer at Port Canaveral really early. I think we had to be off by 8amish. We didn't realize that it would be so early. We sat around MCO for a few hours, since our plane didn't leave until the afternoon. We were used to Royal Caribbean, who used to kick you off much later, like closer to lunch.

​

I want to book a nice birthday dinner, and I'm thinking of Victoria and Alberts if I can get a reservation, if not, then maybe my favorite, Ohana or maybe we'll try California Grill.​

If you can do it, do V&A. We did it in March, and it was fabulous. If you can't get into V&A, try Remy on Fantasy. It's actually cheaper than V&A. It's one of the same chefs, Scott Hummel. It was excellent too and has a beautiful view of the front of the ship and maybe even the sunset.

​

I hope the new Indiana Jones-themed restaurant will be open and fully operating. It would be fun to have a meal there.​

I saw something today that said it was opening in the fall, and it listed some of the food and beverage items. It looks really good.

 

[Angeejoe]

Joining in! I really enjoyed your last 2 TRs, so this will be great!

 

[kadrachb]

Joining in!

 

[chunkymonkey]

That time of year things should be pretty decent. I don't think you can go wrong.

Let's hope so! I'm glad it's not hurricane season!

​

We really enjoyed it too on our Spring Break trip, especially the food booths. That's what got me to thinking that I want to do Food & Wine in a couple of years for my 45th

That's a great idea! I love being able to snack around the world!

They booted us off the ship last summer at Port Canaveral really early. I think we had to be off by 8amish. We didn't realize that it would be so early. We sat around MCO for a few hours, since our plane didn't leave until the afternoon. We were used to Royal Caribbean, who used to kick you off much later, like closer to lunch.

​

Did you have the early seating? We have the late seating on this sailing. On our May cruise we had early seating and we had breakfast at 7am. The later seating had breakfast at 8:30am so I assume we will leave after we eat, unless we just choose to walk off the boat early. Probably not though! I'm going to savor every moment of the cruise before they kick us out!

If you can do it, do V&A. We did it in March, and it was fabulous. If you can't get into V&A, try Remy on Fantasy. It's actually cheaper than V&A. It's one of the same chefs, Scott Hummel. It was excellent too and has a beautiful view of the front of the ship and maybe even the sunset.

​

I'm definitely doing Remy! And Palo! I'd love to do both for brunch too. I am not sure which night to book though. It's hard when you don't know your dining rotation because I don't want to miss anything in the MDRs too!

I saw something today that said it was opening in the fall, and it listed some of the food and beverage items. It looks really good.

Me too! It looks good! I'm looking forward to it!

Joining in! I really enjoyed your last 2 TRs, so this will be great!

Thank you!!! Welcome!!

Joining in!

Yay!! Good to see you here!

 

[soniam]

Did you have the early seating? We have the late seating on this sailing. On our May cruise we had early seating and we had breakfast at 7am. The later seating had breakfast at 8:30am so I assume we will leave after we eat, unless we just choose to walk off the boat early. Probably not though! I'm going to savor every moment of the cruise before they kick us out!

We had early seating, so that's probably why we had to leave so early. I wouldn't leave until they pry my cold dead hands from the ship OK, I would probably leave before that, but not willingly.

I'm definitely doing Remy! And Palo! I'd love to do both for brunch too. I am not sure which night to book though. It's hard when you don't know your dining rotation because I don't want to miss anything in the MDRs too!

We just did dinner at Remy. I think I found a website with the past Navigators, so that I could at least not miss Pirate night. I think we missed the Captain's dinner or lobster night. Remy was worth it though. The wine pairing was really great too.

 

[chunkymonkey]

FOOD, FOOD and more FOOD! An ADR Wish List Part 1​

I love dining at Disney. It's one of my favorite aspects of the trip. I generally enjoy dining out and trying new restaurants. I'm a pretty fearless eater and not terribly picky (sometimes). I design my vacation plans around where I'm going to eat. There may have been one year where we extended our trip to WDW because we couldn't get an Ohana ressie until the day we were scheduled to leave. (That was in 2013) ​

I don't think we're going to do the dining plan. While great, I think for this trip we want to be flexible and eat whatever we want. I was thinking of deluxe dining, but I'm on the fence about that still. We did very well this year without the dining plan so unless there is a free dining offer (which I can't take advantage of since we're renting DVC anyways), I think we will just pay OOP for everything.​

Needless to say, I love to EAT! Here are some of my ADR plans. In this post I'll list the places we've eaten at that we want to return to!​

Restaurants I'd like to return to:​

Ohana
Our favorite, enough said. I think we want to do a breakfast here too. Might as well since we'll be staying in the Poly!​

Mmmm, potstickers​

Mmm, noodles.


1900 Park Fare
I want to do dinner here. I've had breakfast here before and had an amazing time. Strawberry soup!! I know the characters for dinner here are different from breakfast, so that will be fun although I really enjoyed breakfast here too!​

Love Tigger!
​

Liberty Tree Tavern
Haven't been here since 2013. We loved dinner here and decided we need to go again!
I think they are doing some refurbishments right now so hopefully it will be a bit nicer inside, but hope the food stays the same!​

Traditional American feast at LTT. Loved the stuffing and gravy and...oh and just about everything else.​

Tusker House
This is my favorite place to eat in AK! I think a trip to AK is worth it for TH alone!
I like how you get to take your pic with Donald before the craziness inside.
I love the safari theme and we usually go for the time in between 10:30-11:30 am when they still have breakfast foods but start bringing out lunch items. There's more variety!
Since we missed it on our last trip (went to Y and Y instead), I definitely want to go back for this.

Yummy breakfast and lunch foods!

Daisy made us do this. It's funny though.


Garden Grill
We had an amazing meal here this past trip. Even though I'd been before, I feel like this time was a LOT better and they have really stepped up their game in the quality of food. Doesn't hurt that LWTL is right below and the fresh produce probably comes from there. I really love the salad here! Probably my favorite salad out of all the family-style meals. Oh and those rolls, don't get me started...YUM. I'm really looking forward to seeing what breakfast here is like too! Most likely we'll do this for both breakfast and dinner!

The salad was so good at Garden Grill!

And so is the rest of the food!


Le Cellier
I haven't been back since they have switched it to a Signature restaurant! I am missing the cheddar cheese soup and the filet mignon. I don't even regularly choose filet (I prefer ribeye or sirloin) for my steak cut, but at Le Cellier the filet is done really well, and that risotto...so good! I'm glad they brought it back.

This was the appetizer sampler we got one year. Next time I'm just getting a large cheddar cheese soup!


Sanaa
We ate here back in 2012, and I really enjoyed the food! I also loved how close we were to the Savannah and could see the animals while we were eating! I definitely want to return.
AKL is also such an amazing resort. We stayed here in 2013 - we paid for a standard room but got upgraded to a savannah view! Don't know how we scored that but hey, we were very grateful!

Curries at Sanaa - so good!

I captured this while we were eating at Sanaa!


Kona Cafe
Since we're in the Poly we might as well have a meal (or a few) at Kona! Can't beat that Tonga Toast! Although you can get it at Captain Cooks too, but it's always nice to sit down at a TS restaurant.

Tonga Toast!


Restaurant Marrakesh
This was a surprise find for me last year. I was looking for an ADR to a place we haven't tried yet. I never really hear much about Marrakesh but I booked it anyways. So when we went we didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed the food! I got one of the "feasts" which was a lot of food (appetizer, soup, entree, and dessert!) but it was all delicious! There's a belly dancer too which adds to the ambiance. I went with my sister so I want to take DH there this time. I think he'd really enjoy it!

The belly dancing show at Restaurant Marrakesh

Tasty meat skewers at Restaurant Marrakesh


Crystal Palace
I've only eaten breakfast here but it's my favorite meal to have buffet. The puffy French toast is so good! Can anyone comment if dinner is just as good?

A breakfast is not complete without Mickey waffles and puffy french toast!

Love the characters at breakfast!


Yachtsman Steakhouse
I really loved our dinner here, and I love the New England feel of the Yacht Club. I hope our waiter, David, is working there this time too! This is a pretty pricey restaurant, but I think it would be nice to go back one day.

A porterhouse smeared with herb butter...mmmm.


Sci fi Dine-In
I always go to Sci Fi for the ambiance and not the food, I just think it's really fun. We were a little spoiled by the Star Wars breakfast here this year as both the food and character interaction were awesome. Non-Star Wars Sci Fi may not be the same after that! But I just like sitting in a dark car to eat my food. LOL

This still is one of my best pictures I've ever taken at WDW. (I was carrying a DSLR on this trip back in 2010)

A pretty traditional burger at Sci Fi


Akershus
I haven't eaten here since 2011 when I went for an all-girl trip with my sisters. We went for dinner, but I think I prefer the breakfast more.
I think we'll aim for breakfast this time! It's nice to be able to take pictures with most of the princesses at one go.

Posing with Snow White!

Swedish meatballs for dinner, although I think we'll do breakfast instead.


Be Our Guest
I actually like all meals at BoG, B, L and D! I've only been for dinner once so I'd like to go again, and we really enjoyed breakfast on this past trip too!
Dinner is the hardest ADR to get! But I've set my alarm - hopefully we'll be able to snag one!

Enjoying the steak at BoG for dinner. Yes, I got the light-up souvenir goblet. It sits on my desk now!

Try the grey stuff, it's delicious! (For the record, I DO like the grey stuff!)


San Angel Inn
I am sometimes picky with Mexican food because I don't really like it when a taco is smothered in cheese and passes as Mexican food. I prefer a more authentic experience.
I'm glad to say, I really enjoyed San Angel Inn when I went with my sister last year! I love the dark ambiance. I especially want lunch here because I like the contrast going from the hot sun into a dark cold room, and then back into the sun again. I just find it more interesting!
I think DH will really like this place as he's less picky with Mexican food and he loves chips n salsa!

Dark interior of San Angel Inn.

I really liked what I got...think it is the Pollo a las Rojas?


Mmmmm
I'm getting hungry just looking at these pictures! I think I do have more restaurants on this list than I do meals, so I will have to narrow it down, and I still want to find some new places to go to!

Coming up I will list what new places I really want to try on this trip!

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

We had early seating, so that's probably why we had to leave so early. I wouldn't leave until they pry my cold dead hands from the ship OK, I would probably leave before that, but not willingly.

Yeah I know, me too!

We just did dinner at Remy. I think I found a website with the past Navigators, so that I could at least not miss Pirate night. I think we missed the Captain's dinner or lobster night. Remy was worth it though. The wine pairing was really great too.

Hmm, I think I may miss Pirate night. Not that it isn't fun, but just so I wouldn't have to bring another costume. I was planning to wear something for Star Wars Day at Sea so maybe we'll forgo pirate night! My sister would kill me if we missed lobster night. That is her favorite food in the world.

 

[kadrachb]

1900 Park Fare
I want to do dinner here. I've had breakfast here before and had an amazing time. Strawberry soup!! I know the characters for dinner here are different from breakfast, so that will be fun although I really enjoyed breakfast here too!

Dinner is SO GOOD! The Strawberry soup is the best, I think I could have went back and just have had bowls of that all night! And the characters are great, too.

Kona Cafe
Since we're in the Poly we might as well have a meal (or a few) at Kona! Can't beat that Tonga Toast! Although you can get it at Captain Cooks too, but it's always nice to sit down at a TS restaurant.

For our next May trip, I'm thinking of doing Kona for dinner and breakfast! Those menus make my mouth water every time I look at them.

Crystal Palace
I've only eaten breakfast here but it's my favorite meal to have buffet. The puffy French toast is so good! Can anyone comment if dinner is just as good?

Dinner is good, but nothing really stood out to me. I've never had breakfast there, so I can't say if the buffet is as good as breakfast though!

 

[soniam]

The potstickers at Ohana look good. We like dumplings and potstickers. We have never had dinner there though.

1900 Park Fare is our traditional chracter meal for breakfast. We love Mary Poppins and Pooh, so it's a must. The food is pretty good too, and we love POG. Haven't done the dinner though.

We enjoyed our lunch at Liberty Tree a few years ago. I would like to go back. We haven't done dinner yet. I wish it still had characters, but that would jack up the price. I am really hoping to get into the new Jungle Cruise restaurant next trip, so I may have to skip LTT. I think the new restaurant will be open by the end of year, so you might be able to get an ADR.

We loved the dinner at Tusker House. It was just so unique and risky for WDW. Plus, Donald is one of my son's favorite characters. I wouldn't mind going back again, but there are so many places at AK that we haven't tried. We haven't been to either Yak & Yeti (TS or QS), and then there's the new Harambe Market QS.

I haven't eaten at Garden Grill. I ate at the restaurant in the same space just a year or two after Epcot opened. Back then, they did get a lot of their produce from the Land. They had the most fabulous key lime pie too. It wasn't a character meal then.

We did Le Cellier in March. We got the cheese soup and a poutine. I liked them, but they were a little bit salty. I would consider going back, but there are way too many places that we haven't tried at Epcot yet.

We haven't been to Sanaa, but I have heard the bread service is excellent. We did Jiko a few years ago and really enjoyed it. They had a really good appetizer with dips, but I think it's different from Sanaa's bread service.

Restaurant Marrakesh
This was a surprise find for me last year. I was looking for an ADR to a place we haven't tried yet. I never really hear much about Marrakesh but I booked it anyways. So when we went we didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed the food! I got one of the "feasts" which was a lot of food (appetizer, soup, entree, and dessert!) but it was all delicious! There's a belly dancer too which adds to the ambiance. I went with my sister so I want to take DH there this time. I think he'd really enjoy it!​

I am glad you said something. I am seriously thinking of Restaurant Marrakesh for our next trip. DS is picky, but he likes kebabs, especially beef or lamb. He really liked Tangierine on a previous trip. I think we could actually find something interesting that he would like, other than the usual kid's fare. I have only read a few reviews from some years ago. One, in particular, wasn't enamored, but he had a local Moroccan place in DC that was much better. We don't have any in Austin, so I think we might give it a try. Thanks for the heads up.

Since our next trip will be during SWW, I am hoping to do the SW character meal at Sci-Fi. We have never eaten there. I haven't heard very good things about the food. I had never seen the inside either, until people posted pics from the SW breakfast. Even if the food isn't spectacular, the decore looks really awesome. Plus, the reviews of the SW breakfast were all really good.

I had read this past week on the boards that Akershus changed some things. I have never eaten there, so I wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. I also couldn't remember if it was for all meals or just certain ones. I think they said that the buffet had been taken away or something. You might want to search for it to be sure that it still interests you with the changes.

We have done BOG at both lunch and dinner now. It was good, but I think I want to try some new places at MK first. It's the only TS we have done there, besides LTT. Usually our MK days are so busy, that I don't want to spend too much time at a TS. It was nice to be able to get a glass of champagne at BOG for dinner on our last trip though, after the stressful day we had.

I know I ate at San Angel when I was a kid. I don't remember the food, but I do remember the ambiance. It was pretty cool. I am reluctant to eat Mexican food at WDW though, since we have so many varieties and really good ones here in Austin. Your meal looked great though. We love the atmosphere of the Mexico pavilion and always get a margarita from La Cava.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Dinner is SO GOOD! The Strawberry soup is the best, I think I could have went back and just have had bowls of that all night! And the characters are great, too.

I know! That soup is divine! Glad to know the soup is there at dinner too! I'm looking forward to this!

For our next May trip, I'm thinking of doing Kona for dinner and breakfast! Those menus make my mouth water every time I look at them.

You can't go wrong ther! Love the breakfast and the dinner is great too! I like the huge round bread they give you before the meal. It is like a giant onion brioche. Mmmmm.

Dinner is good, but nothing really stood out to me. I've never had breakfast there, so I can't say if the buffet is as good as breakfast though!

The breakfast is your typical Disney breakfast buffet and it's quite good, but they do have puffy french toast which is basically like deep fried dough and you can put syrup and or whipped crean etc. on it. It's sooo good! I've been for breakfast twice though so thought dinner might change it up but not sure. I like that they have the characters all day now.

The potstickers at Ohana look good. We like dumplings and potstickers. We have never had dinner there though.

If you like asian or asian-inspired food, then you'd probably like it. They have really good grilled shrimp. If you don't mind a bit of mess though as they are grilled shell-on. I think they make them more flavorful!

1900 Park Fare is our traditional chracter meal for breakfast. We love Mary Poppins and Pooh, so it's a must. The food is pretty good too, and we love POG. Haven't done the dinner though.

I will look into 1900 Park Fare for dinner! I wanted to meet Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters and all the other characters I don't really get to see much.

We enjoyed our lunch at Liberty Tree a few years ago. I would like to go back. We haven't done dinner yet. I wish it still had characters, but that would jack up the price. I am really hoping to get into the new Jungle Cruise restaurant next trip, so I may have to skip LTT. I think the new restaurant will be open by the end of year, so you might be able to get an ADR.

Oh yes! Thanks for reminding me about the new Jungle Cruise restaurant! That is definitely something to think about and add! I hope we find out more information soon!

We loved the dinner at Tusker House. It was just so unique and risky for WDW. Plus, Donald is one of my son's favorite characters. I wouldn't mind going back again, but there are so many places at AK that we haven't tried. We haven't been to either Yak & Yeti (TS or QS), and then there's the new Harambe Market QS.

If I had a choice of Tusker or Yak n Yeti, I'd definitely pick Tusker. I just think it's more fun. Not that Y and Y is bad at all, and is quite good it's just that nothing was that memorable to us and I'd miss Tusker! I will definitely check out the new Harambe Market for some snacks!

I haven't eaten at Garden Grill. I ate at the restaurant in the same space just a year or two after Epcot opened. Back then, they did get a lot of their produce from the Land. They had the most fabulous key lime pie too. It wasn't a character meal then.

We all really enjoyed Garden Grill. It is coming up in a few posts on my TR.

We did Le Cellier in March. We got the cheese soup and a poutine. I liked them, but they were a little bit salty. I would consider going back, but there are way too many places that we haven't tried at Epcot yet.

I haven't had the poutine yet. But from what I'm told it's not exactly authentic poutine. (DH works with a bunch of Canadians). But the steaks are great!

We haven't been to Sanaa, but I have heard the bread service is excellent. We did Jiko a few years ago and really enjoyed it. They had a really good appetizer with dips, but I think it's different from Sanaa's bread service.

Yeah Jiko is definitely more fine-dining than Sanaa. My Indian friend at work RAVES about the curries at Sanaa, in fact, he said his wife asked to speak to the chef, because she wanted to commend him on the amazing food.
I'd love to try Jiko too. Now I have a list a mile long.

I am glad you said something. I am seriously thinking of Restaurant Marrakesh for our next trip. DS is picky, but he likes kebabs, especially beef or lamb. He really liked Tangierine on a previous trip. I think we could actually find something interesting that he would like, other than the usual kid's fare. I have only read a few reviews from some years ago. One, in particular, wasn't enamored, but he had a local Moroccan place in DC that was much better. We don't have any in Austin, so I think we might give it a try. Thanks for the heads up.

If you like kebabs and middle eastern spices, then Marrakesh is definitely right up your alley. I really enjoyed the meat pastries they had as an appetizer as it had unique spices in it. It was definitely far from boring. I think after a week eating cruise food, I'd be delighted to eat something more ethnic and different.

Since our next trip will be during SWW, I am hoping to do the SW character meal at Sci-Fi. We have never eaten there. I haven't heard very good things about the food. I had never seen the inside either, until people posted pics from the SW breakfast. Even if the food isn't spectacular, the decore looks really awesome. Plus, the reviews of the SW breakfast were all really good.

Definitely do the SW Sci Fi meal. It was awesome. Other than that, aside from the decor, the food is about average...burgers, sandwiches, salads, maybe a pasta. I am on the fence about this, but not sure any other restaurant at DHS really appeals to me that much. We've been to Brown Derby and liked it so I am thinking we'll do that again.

I had read this past week on the boards that Akershus changed some things. I have never eaten there, so I wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. I also couldn't remember if it was for all meals or just certain ones. I think they said that the buffet had been taken away or something. You might want to search for it to be sure that it still interests you with the changes.

Thanks! I will look out for the Akershus changes. So far the Disney website didn't list anything different yet.

We have done BOG at both lunch and dinner now. It was good, but I think I want to try some new places at MK first. It's the only TS we have done there, besides LTT. Usually our MK days are so busy, that I don't want to spend too much time at a TS. It was nice to be able to get a glass of champagne at BOG for dinner on our last trip though, after the stressful day we had.

MK days are sometimes pretty stressful! There's just so many people at that park all the time, and you really have to know where you're going, your next ride etc. So I do like to sit down at MK as it's a nice peaceful respite in the middle of the chaos.

I know I ate at San Angel when I was a kid. I don't remember the food, but I do remember the ambiance. It was pretty cool. I am reluctant to eat Mexican food at WDW though, since we have so many varieties and really good ones here in Austin. Your meal looked great though. We love the atmosphere of the Mexico pavilion and always get a margarita from La Cava.

I'm sure you have amazing Mexican food! NY/NJ has very few really good Mexican. Around here it is only about the chips n salsa. I find most entrees kind of bland. But San Angel Inn is someplace Id return to. Im' so excited now!

 

[cinderkelly]

Hi Su-Lynn! I followed your PTR link over from your posting on mine

I LOVE your plans so far! 2 week vacation, sounds like heaven! I can't think of a better way to celebrate your birthday! We have cruised on the Dream, Fantasy's sister ship and absolutely loved it!! We cruised in Sept. During peak hurricane season and the waters were perfectly calm . Your SW cruise sounds like a blast!

Reading your dining wish list got me so hungry! You've got some amazing choices there. Can't wait to follow along!

Kelly

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Su-Lynn! I followed your PTR link over from your posting on mine

I LOVE your plans so far! 2 week vacation, sounds like heaven! I can't think of a better way to celebrate your birthday! We have cruised on the Dream, Fantasy's sister ship and absolutely loved it!! We cruised in Sept. During peak hurricane season and the waters were perfectly calm . Your SW cruise sounds like a blast!

Reading your dining wish list got me so hungry! You've got some amazing choices there. Can't wait to follow along!

Kelly

Hi Kelly! Great to see you here! Excited to follow along on your PTR too!

Yeah 2 weeks...a dream come true! I hear the Dream is really awesome! Good to know the waters in Sept. was good. I hope Feb is ok too!

I love to eat! Now it's just picking which restaurants and narrowing down choices...I haven't even put up all the restaurants I want to try for the first time! And there are quite a few too.