So was the deluxe dining plan worth it? Undoubtedly yes! It took a bit of planning on my part, but tallying the results I ate $720.50 worth of food over the seven days in Walt Disney World, averaging $103 spent on lunch and dinner each day. If you consider the plan only costs $72/day AND you're getting about $50 worth of drinks and snacks on top of that, it's quite a bargain in a place that generally isn't about cutting their guests any deals when it comes to their pocketbook.
Best and Worst Lists:
Most "Bang" for your Credits - Yak & Yeti in the Animal Kingdom. I ate $51 using a single $22 credit. Le Cellier was a close second with $44 for a credit. The most advantageous Signature Dining restaurant was Narcoosie's, which provided a tasty $80 meal for $44 in credits.
Worst Use of Credits - From a purely monetary standpoint, Boma at $17 was my worst use of credits. However, the food was just so damn good that I'm going to say it was worth it anyways. The Brown Derby was also pretty cheap for being a 2 credit joint.
Best Food - I'm going to say that California Grill probably was my favorite dinner, and Le Cellier my favorite lunch.
Worst Food - San Angel Inn was pretty bad all around, I would not go back there or advise anyone to bother with it.
Best "Bang" for the Cost - Boma, hands down. $17 for a full meal is a bargain in Disney World, and no where else even came close to the quality for that price. If I had Boma down the street charging $17, I wouldn't blink an eye at eating there on a regular basis anyways.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Day 6 - Dinner - California Grill
Another signature dining restaurant - this one at the Contemporary Resort. This one is on the 15th floor and I picked it this night because I had read that it offers a view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.
Dinner
California Grill
Contemporary Resort
Fresh and modern decor, with a clean, open, and warm atmosphere. This was one of my favorite restaurants to dine in of the whole trip.
Appetizer
Lobster Risotto - $17
Elegant and rich, this risotto was perfectly cooked and was absolutely delicious.
Entree
Oak Fired Filet of Beef - $44
Since I was eating at a grill I figured what better than to try a nice piece of grilled beef? Cooked to perfection with a flavorful and smokey outer crust while remaining juicy and tender inside. Served over a bed of mashed potatoes with some grilled zucchini and a sweet but not overpowering sauce.
Dessert
Vahlrona Chocolate Cake - $13
Pleasant ending to a wonderful meal. This dessert combined some crunchy candies, a small chocolate lava cake, and fresh cherry ice cream.
| Drink | $3 |
| Appetizer | $17 |
| Entree | $44 |
| Dessert | $13 |
| Total | $77 |
Dining Credits - 2
Credit "Value" - $44
Overall Savings - $33
Day 8 - Breakfast - Boma
Boma again... the final breakfast was the one meal I hadn't preplanned or booked, but without a doubt I knew that Boma was going to be the only real choice. It was just that good the first time around that I had to go back.
Breakfast
Boma
Animal Kingdom Lodge
Magical Boma Awesome Brunch Buffet - $17
Their spread is just so good. Even though at $17 I'm losing out on spending a dining credit here, I don't really care. The food was just that good - honestly it's quite a bit better than many of the restaurants that ostensibly charged twice the cost for a meal.
| Drink | $- |
| Appetizer | $- |
| Entree | $17 |
| Dessert | $- |
| Total | $17 |
Dining Credits - 1
Credit "Value" - $17
Overall Savings - ($5)
Day 7 - Dinner - Rose and Crown
And here we are at the final dinner. I wanted our last night at Epcot to be special and to have a good view of the fireworks, so I chose the Rose and Crown which was right on the water.
Dinner
Rose and Crown
British Pavilion
Evokes the feel of what I assume to be a British pub. I've never been to an actual British pub so it's hard for me to say how accurate they got it. I've been to several American version of Irish pubs, and this was kind of like those only a bit brighter inside.
Appetizer
Meat and Cheese - 13
A selection of meats and cheeses. A reasonable start to a meal, but nothing memorable.
Entree
Fish and Chips - $16
When in Britain... This was okay but not great. The fish was crispy and flaky, but the fries could have been cooked a little bit more - they were a tad limp and hadn't quite gotten to the point of golder brown and delicious.
Dessert
Baileys Irish Coffee Trifle - $6
Possibly the high point of the meal, this dessert combines two of my favorite flavors into a sweet package.
| Drink | $3 |
| Appetizer | $13 |
| Entree | $16 |
| Dessert | $6 |
| Total | $38 |
Dining Credits - 1
Credit "Value" - $38
Overall Savings - $16
Day 7 - Lunch - Le Cellier
This was one of the highest rated "1" credit restaurants in the entire park. Even making reservations three months in advance I had a difficult time booking a good time to eat. Who knew Canadian food would be that popular?
Dinner
Le Cellier
Epcot - Canada Pavilion
I was born and raised in the northwest, and have been up to British Columbia and Alberta quite a few times. This place was all wood and stone and reminded me a lot of an excellent steakhouse in Banff called The Keg. In my opinion, they were going for Canadian steakhouse and they really nailed it.
Appetizer
Cheddar Beer Soup - $7
Another restaurant with an actual special option for the "drink" - they serve up milkshakes! Not the best milkshake I've had, but it was a pleasant change of pace. The soup was okay, but I've lived in the midwest for a few years and this was no where near the level of beer-cheese soup that I've had there.
Entree
Mushroom Filet Mignon - $27
Delicious, delicious steak. Nice cut of meat, nicely prepared, and nicely sauced. This was almost as good as the California Grill steak from the night before, and was a true deal for "1" credit.
Dessert
Campfire Smores - $6
So sweet and so gooey, I really didn't enjoy this dessert as much as I was expecting. They's just way too much going on, and I have no idea what the point of the giant piece of candy on the end of the stick is supposed to be - it tasted like pure sugar.
| Drink | $4 |
| Appetizer | $7 |
| Entree | $27 |
| Dessert | $6 |
| Total | $44 |
Dining Credits - 1
Credit "Value" - $22
Overall Savings - $22
Day 6 - Lunch - San Angel Inn
This was not a particularly highly rated restaurant, but given the amount of time we spent in Epcot I wanted a chance to try out as many of the sit-down establishments as possible
San Angel Inn
Epcot - Mexico Pavilion
Nestled away inside the mayan-like temple is this little restaurant sitting next to the indoor river that the Three Campaneros ride runs on. It was cool and somewhat dark. The chips and salsa were okay be nothing amazing.
Appetizer
Sopa azteca (tortilla soup) - $7
The soup was not particularly good. Absolutely nothing about it sticks out in my mind
Entree
Carne asada con Chilequines - $23
The meat was tough and not overly tasty. The chilequines were just a soggy mess of tortilla chips soaked in a green chili salsa and some crumbly and were pretty nasty. Doesn't look appetizing, and tasted about like what it looks like.
Dessert
Helado de vainilla - $6
Vanilla ice cream with a caramel sauce. Exactly like what it sounds like.
| Drink | $3 |
| Appetizer | $7 |
| Entree | $23 |
| Dessert | $6 |
| Total | $39 |
Dining Credits - 1
Credit "Value" - $22
Overall Savings - $17
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