Saturday, December 31, 2011
One More Disney Day
Well, not what I expected, but still pretty cool!
There area three parts to the new offer. First, you can get one more day and night of Disney magic free when
buying a 3-night, 3-day non-discounted room and ticket package at select Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort hotels before Jan. 31, 2012 (for arrivals most nights Feb. 26 – March 10, 2012). For those of you who booked using the free dining promotion or the winter room discount, this does not apply to you (and likely won't save you money to switch....but I will be checking for all my clients!)
Second, they are having "24 Hours of Magic" on leap day, 29 February. For the first time ever, both the
Magic Kingdom Park in Florida and the Disneyland Park in California will be open for 24 hours straight, beginning at 6 a.m. on Feb. 29, 2012, to enjoy select attractions, entertainment and services! That’s an entire, non-stop day (and night) of magic, characters and more. Pretty cool! I'll be there on leap day...don't know if I can coax the family into a 4am spin on the tea cups, but we'll see!
And lastly, Disney is giving away 60 vacation packages. Starting January 1, 2012, enter every day through February 29, 2012 for a chance to win one of 60 vacation packages for 4 to either Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort. You can enter here Good luck! Let me know if you won! ;)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Table Service, Quick Service and Snacks, oh my (aching stomach!)
My family are DVC members since 2003, so we normally do not purchase the dining plan. I have so many clients using it this year and next, that I decided we needed to purchase for our most recent trip so I could refresh my memory on the good and bad points of the dining plan. I will start with this, if you are able to book a trip under a free dining promotion, it is likely the best deal you are going to get. If you are able to take advantage of another room discount promotion, and have to pay to add dining on to your package, really think about how your family eats before deciding which dining plan (if any!) to add on. There are three dining plans, the Quick Service Dining Plan, the Plus Dining Plan and the Deluxe Dining Plan. The Quick Service plan gives you 2 Quick Service meals and 1 snack per night of the reservation per person over age 3 in your party. The Plus Dining Plan gives you 1 Quick Service meal, 1 Table Service meal and 1 snack per night of your reservation per person over age 3 in your party. The Deluxe Dining Plan gives you 3 meals per day (your choice of either Quick Service or Table Service meals) ad 2 snacks per night of your reservation per person over age 3 in your party. The table service meals under the Plus Dining Plan include either one full buffet or an entree/dessert/non-alcoholic beverage. Under the Deluxe Dining Plan, a table service meal includes either one full buffet or an appetizer/an entree/a dessert/non-alcoholic beverage. Have I lost you yet? Lol! (NOTE: This is just one reason to have the help of a vacation planner...to sort out your dining plan options and help you understand your entitlements under each plan). Regardless of which plan you chose, it is ALOT of food.
Our family went with the Plus Dining Plan. So, for our party of two adults and two children, during our 5 night stay we had a total of 10 adult table service meal credits, 10 child table service meal credits, 20 counter service meal credits and 20 snack credits. As I already mentioned, it is alot of food for us. Especially when we don't normally have a dessert with every meal we eat!
We used our table service credits at 4 restaurants, the Crystal Palace, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Le Chefs de France, and Tutto Italia (2 dining credits per person for the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package).
CRYSTAL PALACE
This is one of our favorites and is a "must do" when we are at the Magic Kingdom. I am not normally a fan of buffets and stay clear of them when we travel. However, Disney does buffets well, quite well actually. The variety and quality of the food is great, and the Crystal Palace is no exception. I recommend at least one buffet for families with young children. The table service children's menus are fairly standard (although you will find variety at some) and my 9 y/o gets bored with the options. Buffets give kids (and adults!) a wide variety of choices and opportunities to try new things. The character interaction is always well organized and flows well at the Crystal Palace. Lots of photo ops and the characters spend time with each family.
TUTTO ITALIA (CANDLELIGHT PROCESSIONAL DINNER PACKAGE)
Hands down one of the best Italian restaurants this side of the Atlantic. I come from a large Italian American family (based in NY) and lived in Italy when the USAF sent us there for 3 years (thank you Uncle Sam!) - so we are very picky when it comes to Italian food. There have been many many places we have tried and never gone back to because, well, it just wasn't Italian. Everything at Tutto Italia the appetizers, the entrees and the desserts are delicious! Huge portions, but outstanding. Really. Over the past couple of years we have tried just about every thing, and have never been disappointed. Yum! Sadly, they are closing the restaurant for rehab for a few months and will not be open during our upcoming trip in February 2012. They are also changing the menu (gasp!) - I'm all for change, as long as it's good. And they have their work cut out for them to make that menu any better than it is now.
50'S PRIME TIME CAFE
I love the atmosphere here. I love having a waiter/waitress who gets into character of the bossy aunt or cousin. My 5 and 9 year old sons thought it was funny that they were tasked with setting the table, and believed her when she said no dessert unless they finished their veggies, and jumped when she scolded them for having light sabers on the table. My 78 year old father, however, did not enjoy the ribbing by our waitress about his hat. She noticed is less than warm response to her and left him alone (well, treated him like he would be at any OTHER restaurant I should say) and that seemed to make him happy. I'm not sure what it is, but the food here isn't anything special to me. People tell me they have great meatloaf. People, it's meatloaf. It's a Wednesday night winter dish in my house, I'm NOT going to order it out at a restaurant. And yes, the fried chicken looks fabulous, but I have paid a trainer at my local gym too much money to eat THAT much fried chicken at one meal. I ended up ordering a newer menu item, the grilled Mahi Mahi and is was very good. We don't go here often, and we will skip it our next trip. But it's worth going to at least once, if for no other reason than to have fun with the waitstaff.
LE CHEFS DE FRANCE
I love the France Pavillion in EPCOT. I enjoy sitting near the fountain while my husband and boys run around with the Kim Possible "Kimunicators". Le Chefs de France is a new restaurant for us. We lived in Belgium from 2006 - 2009 and developed a taste for French cheese, escargot, good wine. Now, Le Chefs de France is not exactly the same as sitting at our corner cafe in Belgium, but we enjoy it all the same. The French onion soup, the cheese plate, the quiche, and the braised short ribs are some of my favorites. The children's menu sounds fancy when chicken tenders and hambuger are translated into French, lol, but it is a pretty basic kid's menu. My only complaint about Le Chefs de France is that I feel like the tables are all on top of one another.
Wow. those were only our table service meals. I'll cover our quick service meals in another post. Right now I feel like I need to go out for a run to work off the food I ate last month!
Our family went with the Plus Dining Plan. So, for our party of two adults and two children, during our 5 night stay we had a total of 10 adult table service meal credits, 10 child table service meal credits, 20 counter service meal credits and 20 snack credits. As I already mentioned, it is alot of food for us. Especially when we don't normally have a dessert with every meal we eat!
We used our table service credits at 4 restaurants, the Crystal Palace, 50's Prime Time Cafe, Le Chefs de France, and Tutto Italia (2 dining credits per person for the Candlelight Processional Dinner Package).
CRYSTAL PALACE
This is one of our favorites and is a "must do" when we are at the Magic Kingdom. I am not normally a fan of buffets and stay clear of them when we travel. However, Disney does buffets well, quite well actually. The variety and quality of the food is great, and the Crystal Palace is no exception. I recommend at least one buffet for families with young children. The table service children's menus are fairly standard (although you will find variety at some) and my 9 y/o gets bored with the options. Buffets give kids (and adults!) a wide variety of choices and opportunities to try new things. The character interaction is always well organized and flows well at the Crystal Palace. Lots of photo ops and the characters spend time with each family.
TUTTO ITALIA (CANDLELIGHT PROCESSIONAL DINNER PACKAGE)
Hands down one of the best Italian restaurants this side of the Atlantic. I come from a large Italian American family (based in NY) and lived in Italy when the USAF sent us there for 3 years (thank you Uncle Sam!) - so we are very picky when it comes to Italian food. There have been many many places we have tried and never gone back to because, well, it just wasn't Italian. Everything at Tutto Italia the appetizers, the entrees and the desserts are delicious! Huge portions, but outstanding. Really. Over the past couple of years we have tried just about every thing, and have never been disappointed. Yum! Sadly, they are closing the restaurant for rehab for a few months and will not be open during our upcoming trip in February 2012. They are also changing the menu (gasp!) - I'm all for change, as long as it's good. And they have their work cut out for them to make that menu any better than it is now.
50'S PRIME TIME CAFE
I love the atmosphere here. I love having a waiter/waitress who gets into character of the bossy aunt or cousin. My 5 and 9 year old sons thought it was funny that they were tasked with setting the table, and believed her when she said no dessert unless they finished their veggies, and jumped when she scolded them for having light sabers on the table. My 78 year old father, however, did not enjoy the ribbing by our waitress about his hat. She noticed is less than warm response to her and left him alone (well, treated him like he would be at any OTHER restaurant I should say) and that seemed to make him happy. I'm not sure what it is, but the food here isn't anything special to me. People tell me they have great meatloaf. People, it's meatloaf. It's a Wednesday night winter dish in my house, I'm NOT going to order it out at a restaurant. And yes, the fried chicken looks fabulous, but I have paid a trainer at my local gym too much money to eat THAT much fried chicken at one meal. I ended up ordering a newer menu item, the grilled Mahi Mahi and is was very good. We don't go here often, and we will skip it our next trip. But it's worth going to at least once, if for no other reason than to have fun with the waitstaff.
LE CHEFS DE FRANCE
I love the France Pavillion in EPCOT. I enjoy sitting near the fountain while my husband and boys run around with the Kim Possible "Kimunicators". Le Chefs de France is a new restaurant for us. We lived in Belgium from 2006 - 2009 and developed a taste for French cheese, escargot, good wine. Now, Le Chefs de France is not exactly the same as sitting at our corner cafe in Belgium, but we enjoy it all the same. The French onion soup, the cheese plate, the quiche, and the braised short ribs are some of my favorites. The children's menu sounds fancy when chicken tenders and hambuger are translated into French, lol, but it is a pretty basic kid's menu. My only complaint about Le Chefs de France is that I feel like the tables are all on top of one another.
Wow. those were only our table service meals. I'll cover our quick service meals in another post. Right now I feel like I need to go out for a run to work off the food I ate last month!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
One More Disney Day
I'm a planner by nature (hence why I love my job so much!), and am not patient waiting for information to be released. This new teaser is driving me crazy! I wonder what it can be? I've heard much speculation, but I'm hoping the people at Disney are more creative than those who are posting their ideas to the internet discussion boards! I'll be anxiously waiting on 31 Dec 2011 to hear the news!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Jedi Training Academy
If you would like information on how you can book your own Walt Disney World vacation, click here for a free, no obligation quote today!
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