This is the Cheesiest Report Ever- Nov 2018 Deluxe Dining Report-updated 12/30 Mama Melrose

SweetSerenity

Thank you evenin' star!
Joined
May 8, 2009
Hello!

Welcome to The Cheesiest Report Ever- a memoir to all things tasty and edible from our recent vacation of 10/31/18- 11/10/18. In this saga, we pay homage to the 27 dining credits and 36 snack credits that were bestowed upon us via the 2018 Deluxe Dining Plan. This does include Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival, though *DISCLAIMER*, don't expect a lot from the festival as we lived in a state of perpetual fullness.

What you will see, however, are 27 table service credits, including 4 signature restaurants, an attempt at spending 36 snack credits, and yes, there will be lots and lots of cheese.

I also wanted to answer the age-old question for myself of whether or not we actually would save money with the dining plan so I kept a running total of everything we spent both on the plan and out of pocket to see if it was worth it this time. I will do a grand total at the end of this report.

To take away the suspense, here are the table services where we dined, many of which were new* to us:

  • Kona Cafe
  • Tony's Town Square
  • Yachtsman Steakhouse
  • 1900 Park Fare*
  • Liberty Tree Tavern
  • La Hacienda*
  • Yak & Yeti
  • Mama Melrose
  • Rose and Crown
  • Crystal Palace
  • Sanaa*
  • Tiffins*
  • Cape May Cafe*
  • Les Chefs de France
  • Paddlefish*
  • Trattoria Al Forno*
  • Chef Art Smith's Homecomin'*
  • The Wave*
  • Beaches and Cream*
  • Teppan Edo
  • Akershus
  • Nine Dragons
  • Le Cellier
Also, we attended the Star Wars Dessert Party and the Afternoon Tea at the Grand Floridian.

I will say that one of our meals was so great that we returned and ate there twice. Can you guess which one? Who didn't live up to expectations, and which restaurants surprised us the most? Which one was called The Great Redemption and earned its second chance? At which restaurant did we dine next to a celebrity chef? Find out all these answers and more during the food journey ahead!

So, please, pull up a comfy chair and join me for a celebration of food! If the above suits your fancy and you want to see how the rest of the journey pans out, here is the link to my TR: Think of All The Joy You'll Find When You Leave the World Behind.
*Bibs provided at no additional cost. Party hostess is not responsible for cases of drooling or licking the computer screen. Should these serious side effects occur, please call the Disney Reservation Line to resolve immediately. **

*Double disclaimer- I am not soliciting sales for Disney. The aforementioned was used for entertainment purposes only.
 
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Snacking Our Way Around the Springs- Travel Day Snacks


As I mentioned in my introductory post, we were on the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan for 9 nights so that entitled us to 27 table service credits each and 18 snack credits each for a grand total of a whopping 54 table service credits and 36 snacks. Goodness gracious, that is a lot of food. So, you may be asking yourself why we did this to ourselves. I can tell you that now that we're back, I'm not sure either, but we made it work.

Here is a brief summary of how this came to be. Originally, when I booked our reservation, I had the standard dining plan. After consideration of discounts, Landry club, and a Shula's BOGO coupon, we decided to cancel the plan and just wing it. 17 days before the trip, we start budgeting out all the things we wanted to try since it was Food and Wine and all the fall fare. We had about 13 or 14 table services already booked. After the budget was made, my husband asks me out of curiosity how much it would cost us to go on the deluxe plan since we wanted to try so many snacks and restaurants. I think he's crazy, but I checked on the price and we would have saved over a thousand dollars. Alas, the food baby was born.

Okay, lets go over this one more time:
3 table service snack credits per day
+
2 snack credits per day
+
alcohol
=
very full bellies.

We are not big drinkers, but we enjoy the occasional drink and since alcohol is now included on the dining plan, it made it just a little more appealing.

I do have a lot of dietary restrictions due to two gastrointestinal conditions that I have for which I am trying to have surgery to correct. These aren't true allergies, though I do have a few mild allergies to shrimp, tomatoes, bananas, and milk, but they can worsen my conditions and make me sick. These mainly include raw vegetables, lettuce, beans, tough meats, corn, and most recently I was advised to completely cut out gluten and dairy. I will be honest, though, and say that I did not abide by all the rules for 9 whole days because I wanted to enjoy my trip. There were a few things that are the hardest on my body that I stuck to, but judging by the title of this report, I ate a lot of cheese. I did pay the price for overindulging about 5 days out of the 10 we spent, but I don't regret it. I've lived with this condition for at least 7 consecutive years now, and I try to make the best out of it, but for one special occasion I wasn't going to let it stop me.

Lets get started, shall we?

Wednesday, October 31st, 2018

Lets skip to the fun part. Disney Springs.

After a long day of traveling that included one pit stop at Cracker Barrel in who-knows-where Georgia, we headed to Disney Springs for refuel. The DxDP did not officially start until 11/01/18 so everything we ate at DS on this night was paid for out of pocket.

First up, we stopped at The Daily Poutine. Jason doesn't think there is anything better than fries, cheese, and gravy so he wanted to try this.

ClassicPoutine.jpg
He went with the Classic, which was the nice fluffy fries, bites of cheese curd, and gravy. I'm not a big gravy fan myself, but this was really good. For the price, though, Jason said he wanted it to have a little bit of meat- perhaps some brisket of some sort.

ItalianPoutine.jpg
I wanted to try the Italian Poutine. Again, this had the nice fluffy fries with mozzarella bites and a tangy bolognese sauce. I liked this, though the sauce was a bit watery. It did contain meat, which helped bulk up the dish. I felt like it was missing something, but I'm not quite sure what.

Total for The Daily Poutine: $20.75
Cheese Count: 2

Onward we went until we found B.B. Wolfe Sausage Company. I wanted to try their seasonal Oktoberfest offering, but since Jason didn't want anything I just went with the Braided Pretzel.
BBWolfePretzel.jpg
People. I'm a pretzel connoisseur. As we speak, I'm snacking on limited edition Ale Cheddar pretzel pieces. Let me tell you, this is the best pretzel I've ever had on property if not in my lifetime. I'm not sure if it was because the braiding changed the baking of the dough or what, but it was so soft and buttery and just perfect. I don't eat a lot of salt except for on pretzels, and this was the perfect amount. The cheese on the left side of the plate was almost like what they serve at Cooke's of Dublin without the bacon, but it was sharp and paired perfectly with the pretzel. I don't really care for mustard, but I liked the mustard they served with this. I'm not sure if the better bite was with the cheese or if it was when I put a little of the salt from the pretzel into the mustard. This is a really long paragraph for a pretzel, but that should tell you how amazing this was.

Total spent at B.B. Wolfe- $6.92
Cheese Count: 3
Pretzel Count: 1

Jason was still hungry and while he had just had poutine, he wanted more cheese and fries so we were off to Cooke's of Dublin for the Vintage Cheese dip. We loves this cheesy goodness with the bits of bacon in it. A few years ago, one of the managers gave us the recipe. We still get it when we're in Florida, though. I also wanted a little protein so we settled on a kids' chicken tender basket and a side of the cheese dip so that he could have what he wanted and I could have some chicken.
Cookesofdublinchicken.jpg
I like the crispy batter on the chicken, which is always juicy when we get it. However, there really is no flavor to it other than chicken and batter. I think it could use a little seasoning, but dip it in some cheese and it's all right with the world. These chips are the fluffy fries that I love so much. And, really, what else can I say about that cheese. We were both satisfied after our hodge podge meal around the Springs.

Total at Cooke's of Dublin: $14.32
Cheese Count: 4
Total OOP cost for food: $41.99

The rest of the evening we just walked around Disney Springs. We did stop in The Ganachery and sampled a piece of dark chocolate, which is my favorite. We said we would go back for pumpkin spice chocolate, but we didn't. I also really wanted a chocolate apple this year. I drooled over them, but alas, I never got one of those either.

candyapples.jpg Ganachery.jpg

We headed back to our hotel for the evening and settled into bed with visions of too much food in our heads!

Up next:
Vacation officially begins. How will we spend our very first dining credits of the trip?
 
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I suffered from gastrointestinal issues for years before discovering a supplement that really helped me. As long as I take one Curamed 750mg pill a day, my stomach problems are kept in check. It is basically just turmeric and has a secondary benefit of easing joint pain also. It doesn’t cure my issues and they all come back if I skip it for 2 days, but as long as I stay on it, it really seems to help.

It might be worth a try for you. It really changed my life.
 
I suffered from gastrointestinal issues for years before discovering a supplement that really helped me. As long as I take one Curamed 750mg pill a day, my stomach problems are kept in check. It is basically just turmeric and has a secondary benefit of easing joint pain also. It doesn’t cure my issues and they all come back if I skip it for 2 days, but as long as I stay on it, it really seems to help.

It might be worth a try for you. It really changed my life.

I may look into that and check the benefits of it. Thank you for sharing with me!
 
Amazing start and now I'm suddenly craving cheese and a pretzel. No idea why though. Have my bib ready for the best of the report!
 
Do You Want Me to Dress In Drag and Do the Hula? November 1st, 2018- Kona Breakfast


We had a 9:45 reservation at Kona so we checked in to The Boardwalk around 7:45 a.m. We walked down to the transportation center and hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom. Once we got there, we had to go through security to get over to the monorails. Once we made the steep incline to the monorail, we rode around to the Contemporary, TTC, and finally The Polynesian.

I love The Polynesian, though I've never had the privilege of staying there. I enjoy walking around the lobby and stopping in the shops. Back home, we had this amazing Polynesian restaurant that, unfortunately, recently closed after being in business for over 50 years. It was hokey and plastered in plastic tiki garb, but I loved it. I guess the resort and restaurant always reminded me of each other.

We checked in early and were seated at 9:15.
Kona.jpg

konamenu.jpg

It had been about 8 years sine we last ate here for breakfast, but what I had gotten last time was no longer on the menu. I did remember the presspot and ordered that promptly while Jason settled on the Lilikoi juice.
konapot2.jpg

I love the coffee. I let it steep a little longer to get a nice, bold flavor. Jason enjoys this juice in whatever form it may be, depending on which restaurant has it.

For our entrees Jason went with the Tonga Toast. He had never had this before. . . and will never have this again.
tongatoast.jpg
It was a little on the burnt side, and he only found one lonely banana inside. This was dry and just hard to eat. I think he should have sent it back, but he was polite and didn't want to trouble anyone.

macademiapancakes.jpg
I had the Macadamia Nut Pancakes with a side of ham. Yes, that's bacon on my plate, but they later brought me a side of ham. I had these years ago and whether it's my memory failing me or they changed the recipe, I remember the nuts being in the butter and not throughout the pancakes. So, these were delicious. Fluffy pancakes with sweet butter and caramelized pineapple. My complaint, which is totally my fault, is that there were way too many macadamia nuts in the pancakes. I like them, but there were just too many for me. Next time, I would ask for plain pancakes with the good stuff on top.

konaham.jpg
The ham. Not spiced- which is spam. No thanks.

konasyrup.jpg
These were the syrups for our tonga toast and pancakes. Maple for me and strawberry compote for Jason.

I was satisfied with my meal, but Jason didn't look happy. He didn't really complain, though. As far as the DDP is concerned, this was not a great use of credit, but we made up for it later.
Total spent on DDP: $45.80
+ gratuity (I will add these up at the end to put in the OOP expenses)

After breakfast, we browsed the gift shop for a moment, but soon it would be time for our very first park of the trip: Magic Kingdom. Stay tuned!
 
Too bad about the Tonga toast, he def should have sent it back. Sounds like he got a bad batch.

Kona is def not a “good” value for your credit but they don’t all have to be the best value.
 

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