Monthly Archives: July 2015

Disney Dining – Table Service VS Signature Dining

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So many dining questions (mostly my own) when planning a Walt Disney World vacation!  One of the most common is…What the heck is the difference between a “Table Service” restaurant and a “Signature Dining” experience?  This is an excellent question!!!  For guests on the Disney Dining Plan, the difference boils down to this:  Table Service = one credit and Signature restaurants = 2 credits.  But what is the difference REALLY?  What do I get for either my money or my dining credits?  That, my friends, is an interesting poser!RM-Yachtsman-Filet

To even the playing field for today’s exercise, I’m excluding all in-park dining options and focusing on two main categories:  1.)  Resort or Downtown Disney Dining Options and 2.)  Places Where I’ve Eaten.  With this information, you’ll be able to tell the difference between the two dining categories AND you can think about choosing a restaurant without the added expense/use of a theme park ticket.  Honestly, it’s no big secret that our family generally prefers dining at the resorts over the parks anyway.

Disney Dining – Table Service VS Signature Dining

In General:  

Signature Dining is more grown-up.  With the exception of Victoria and Albert’s at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Disney World restaurants are kid-friendly.  That being said, folks in Signature eateries tend to be adults-out-for-an-evening versus families with little ones.Citricos-Window

Signature Dining tends to involve dressier attire.  From the Disney Dining Plan information sheet:  “Dress Code for Signature Restaurants is Resort Casual. Not permitted in dining room: Tank tops, swimsuits or swimsuit cover-ups, hats for gentlemen, cut-offs, torn clothing of any kind, or T-shirts with offensive language and/or graphics.”  You just get a dressier vibe in general and we tend to clean up at our resort before we hit one of the restaurants of the Signature Dining variety.

Signature Dining is more expensive.  In our experience, this is true.  Sure, you can run up a large tab anywhere, but based on a basic 4-5 course meal, Signature restaurants cost a bit more.

Signature Dining may have better service.  MAY being the operative word here.  We’ve had incredible service at places like Flying Fish but, on the flip side, have never had poor service at any of our favorite Table Service restaurants.  If you want your server to know more about wine pairings and how certain dishes or sauces are prepared, you’re more likely to find that in a Signature Dining restaurant.Citricos-Michael

Signature Dining is quieter and more relaxing (and takes longer).  Fewer kids, generally better pacing – the meals tend to flow better in favor of enjoying each course and the dining experience to a fuller extent than at a regular Table Service place.  There’s no rush to move families along before a melt-down occurs.

Let’s look at specific restaurants and compare!

Our favorite Table Service restaurants include this selection of six from the resorts (all are ONE credit on the Disney Dining Plan):

  • Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) – Buffet with a fixed price (unless you order adult beverages) that includes a selection of both exotic, African-inspired dishes AND kid (and picky eater)-friendly choices.  Soups, salads, entrées, desserts – a feast to please every taste!
  • Sanaa (Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village) – Feels very close to a Signature Dining experience with exotic flavors and an unsurpassed appetizer, the “Bread Service”.  It’s warm, cozy, and boasts an excellent, knowledgeable wait staff.  (Choose this over Jiko if you need to save a Table Service credit, but want the great flavors and atmosphere if Animal Kingdom Lodge.)RM-Sanaa Server
  • Olivia’s Café (Old Key West) – Underappreciated and off-the-beaten-path, this place is cozy with a homey, beachy vibe.  The service is above par and the relaxed atmosphere after a hectic day in the parks cannot be beat!Relaxed Dining at Olivia's Cafe / Old Key West / Walt Disney World
  • Kona Café (Polynesian Village Resort) – If I had to rank this list, Kona Café would come in last.  Based on the one-and-only time we’ve eaten there, the atmosphere and service left us underwhelmed, but the food was delicious!
  • ‘Ohana (Polynesian Village Resort) – Perfect for families with big appetites looking for a kid-friendly atmosphere.  It helps if you like meat as this is a Brazilian Barbeque-style dining experience.
  • Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) – We love this place!  For an Irish Pub, it’s extremely family-friendly, has fun live entertainment, great music, and a delicious comfort-food-intensive menu.RM-Raglan-Road-Dancers

Resort Signature Dining (TWO Disney Dining Table Service Credits) experiences we’ve tried include:

  • Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) – We love this place!  Expensive, yes, but exotic with great service, awesome wine selection, and delicious menu choices that have never disappointed.
  • Flying Fish Café – The artisanal cheese appetizer is amazing, but we also love the service, the interesting menu (something for everyone, even non-seafood-lovers) and the atmosphere – prime location on Disney’s Boardwalk.Disney's Flying Fish Cafe Interior
  • California Grill – More kids than we anticipated!  Of all the Signature Dining places we’ve tried, this one was the nosiest and had the most kids-on-the-loose.  It’s the balcony that allows guests a magnificent view of Wishes (Magic Kingdom’s nighttime fireworks show) – Access is included with a dining reservation.  The food’s great, the service is awesome, but if you’re looking for a quieter, kid-less dinner, think about trying a different restaurant.
  • Citricos (Grand Floridian Resort and Spa) – This place feels elegant, upscale, and unpretentious at the same time.  The service is excellent!  The menu is broad enough for picky or special-restriction diners.  We also think the atmosphere strikes just the right balance between fancy and on-vacation.Citricos-Interior
  • Yachtsman Steakhouse (Yacht and Beach Club Resort) – Looking for a great steak dinner?  You’ll find one here.  Compared to the great service we’re received at other Signature Dining restaurants, Yachtsman’s servers possess the most pride in their food, atmosphere, and service.  There seem to be more kids here than at some other Signature Dining restaurants, but they’re too busy enjoying their steaks to make noise or cause a ruckus.RM-Yachtsman-Dining-Room
  • Artist Point (Wilderness Lodge) – Again, if I had to rank the restaurants in this category, Artist Point would come in last.  It’s dark and, compared to Wilderness Lodge’s awesome ambiance, lacks character.  Save your dining credits!  We’ve found much better experiences at NON-signature restaurants.  Rumor has it that changes are on the horizon for Artist Point, but it would take a lot to get me back in there for another meal when there are so many other, more reliable options.

Whew!  I’m exhausted…and hungry.  I hope I was able to shed a bit of light on the differences between the different dining experiences at Walt Disney World for you.  I believe it’s important to be an informed consumer when it comes to my precious vacation dollars.

What would you recommend for an excellent sit-down meal at a Disney resort?

 

Disney’s Magic in Norway – Alesund

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Note:  This post is part of a series of articles detailing our adventures aboard Disney Cruise Line’s inaugural cruise through the Norwegian Fjords.  Follow the links at the end of this post to read about other parts of our trip.

Our second port in Norway was Alesund.  After our incredible, but exhausting, experience on the previous day’s hike to Pulpit Rock, we were not 100% – Luckily, the kayaking excursion we’d booked for Alesund wouldn’t begin until after lunch.  Of the four of us, Megan was the one feeling the worst.  She was battling a vicious head cold that began the day before with a sore throat and was gaining traction with every passing hour.  Initially, we thought maybe she was having an allergic reaction to something – we are a pretty hearty bunch and are rarely sick.  Even a cold would be unusual.  By the time we were up and about, the situation was undeniable.  With plenty of time to spare before we needed to meet for our kayaking excursion, we decided to see if we could find a drug store in Alesund and pick up a decongestant and some cough drops.

The weather was, big surprise, chilly and cloudy.  We left the ship and made our way into town.  Easy to navigate on foot, Alesund was a tidy and welcoming with a handy drug store not far from a small indoor shopping center we’d explored first.  Alesund-Walking Alesund-Street Alesund-Shopping Alesund-MallA helpful shop clerk was kind enough to direct us.  A wonderfully kind woman in the drug store was sympathetic and eager to assist.  In no time at all we had everything from a multi-pack of travel-sized tissues, to nose spray, cough drops, and Carmex (cherry flavored).  We made our way back to the ship to get ready for the day’s main adventure and by the time we met in Fathom’s at 1:15, Megan was feeling much better.

From the description of our Kayak Adventure in Alesund, we were expecting to explore the town along the fjord where it ran between the city’s colorful buildings.  Alesund-Fjord-ViewThe kayak tour’s headquarters was located right on this waterway.  Instead, we met our guide, Matt, and after receiving some basic kayak instructions and suiting up in our life-vests and kayaking “skirts”, we walked back to the area where the Magic was docked to board our kayaks.  That was the first of several things we found odd right away. (Notice the look of suspicion on Joseph’s face.)  Alesund-Kayaking-Prep Alesund-Kayak-Demo Alesund-Kayak-Guide Alesund-Kayaking-Equipment Alesund-Kayak-AdventureOur guide was from…you’ll never guess….Australia!  AND he’d been in Norway only a couple of weeks.  We realized that we would not be learning about Alesund’s history and culture from an Alesund native – or even a Norwegian.  Our group was very large – so many guests on the same excursion made us worry about how much (or little) we might actually see.  Lastly, the age limit for this activity seemed very low.  Too low, as we would soon discover.Alesund-Norway

This tour was supposed to last about three hours.  We’d already spent 30 minutes on the safety instructions, equipment distribution, and walking to the dock.  There were so many of us, it literally took another hour to get everyone into their 2-person boats.  Since we were among the first to leave the dock, we spent this time sitting in one place, in a holding pattern, among an ever-growing group of kayaks.  We were spending our valuable tour time floating in place.Alesund-Sea-Kayaking

This is where we first notice that we had, in our midst, a loud, obnoxious child who made Dennis the Menace seem like an angel.  He wasn’t just annoying because he yelled everything he said (and spoke incessantly), he was a trouble-maker of unimaginable talent and spent a great deal of our excursion trying to cause problems between his mom and “Uncle Steve”.  Clearly, mom and Steve did not get along, this kid knew it, and fanned the flames of family drama in any and every way possible.  After a while, it became clear that this child, who shared a kayak with his dad, was a chip off the old block.  The whole exercise proved much too difficult for father and son – poor Matt-from-Australia ended up having to tow them back to the pier.  Subjected to the son’s manipulative commentary the entire way.

Once our tour was finally able to get moving, we didn’t manage to go very far.  Our guide was frantically trying to keep everyone in a tight formation as we made our way down the fjord.  To keep us together, we were instructed to stop and wait – over and over.  The water grew choppier as we paddled along, and soon we were spread out over quite a distance.Alesund-Norway2

Megan and Joseph were in one Kayak, Raymond and I in another.  Guys were in front, leaving Megan and I in charge of steering – which involved a definite learning curve as the rudder was operated with our feet as we tried to make sure we paddled in sync with our leaders.  We worked hard and were moving well, in spite of the zig-zag pattern we made.  We were trying as hard as we could to keep up with Matt so we could hear what he was saying about Alesund’s history and what we were seeing along the shore.  Matt’s frustration grew, we were running out of time, and there were too many boats to keep up with.Alesund-Dock

It took an extremely long time for the huge group to cover a short distance.  Then it was time to turn around and head back to the dock.  This (could have been such fun!  Instead it felt like a waste of time and money.  A Cast Member who happened to take this excursion with us) later asked me what I thought about it.  I immediately offered that while the excursion had lots of potential, the group was too large and the age limit too low.  I suggested 16 as the minimum and she replied that she was thinking 18 and would be making a note to suggest a change.

All in all, we had a good time exploring Alesund both before and after kayaking.  We had fun on the excursion because we were together and visiting someplace new.  Sure, we wished we’d booked a private tour in this case, but we still got to have an adventure of sorts.  Dinner that night was in Animator’s Palate and we ran into Viking Goofy along the way.Lisa-and-Raymond-Animator's Joe-and-Meg-Animator'sViking-Goofy

Next up?  The scariest adventure of all!  Mountain to Fjord Biking!!!  Thanks for reading.

Links to the other parts of this trip report:

 

 

Resort Review: Disney’s Art of Animation

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Hello Weekend!  It’s time for another installment of Saturdays With Nick and this week I’ve got another awesome resort review from Disney Musings with loads of great pictures.  You may recall a couple of months ago, I shared this post about the Cars Suites at Art of Animation.  Today is Nick’s overview of the entire resort.  Whether you’re considering a stay at Art of Animation or you’ve already made it one of your favorite resorts, I know you’re going to love this post.

Resort Review: Disney’s Art of Animation

On our most recent trip to Walt Disney World we stayed at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and, well, this is now a very strong contender for our favorite resort.

It is certainly the most Disneyesque of all the WDW resorts, featuring sections based on Cars, The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo, and The Lion King.

The homage to Disney/Pixar animation begins in the fabulous lobby, Animation Hall, which features a very colorful check in area.

Animation sketches from the movies represented in the different sections of the resort adorn the walls.

Even the chandelier features sketch art.

Buses to the parks are located just outside of the Hall. We thought the bus service was fine, perhaps better than at Pop Century.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort opened in phases through 2012, starting with the Finding Nemo family suites, which are located directly behind Animation Hall.

Family suites include a bedroom with one queen-size bed, one double-size convertible TableBed, one double-size sleeper sofa, living room, 2 bathrooms and a kitchenette.

There are large character sculptures located throughout each area, similar to the Pop and All Star resorts.

This is also where you’ll find the main pool. We loved this pool, which has underwater speakers. You can actually hear the fun soundtrack, which features appropriately aquatic themed music, which can be heard better while submerged! There is also an interactive water play area for kids.

There is also a bridge connecting Art of Animation to the Pop Century resort at the back of this section.

The building exteriors also feature animation art from the film being represented in that section.

There are also trivia and fun facts strewn throughout the resort.

The next section that opened was Cars family suites, which is where we stayed. I’ll have a full report in a future post, but I will say they are fantastic.

Each building in each area has a theme. This building is themed around Tow Maters towing and salvage yard, for instance.

There is a quite pool themed around the Cozy Cone located here, with cones as cabanas.

There are sketchbooks at the ends of buildings, adding to the already wonderful theming.

Next to open were The Lion King family suites. This is the only area not to have a pool of it’s own.

Finally, The Little Mermaid standard rooms opened in late 2012.

The pool is called the Flippin’ Fins Pool, featuring the “Under the Sea Orchestra” conducted by Sebastian.

Back at Animation Hall is where you can find the excellent counter service restaurant, Landscape of Flavors…

…and the Ink and Paint gift shop.

In addition to the aforementioned review of the Cars suites, I’ll have a review of Ink and Paint and Animation Hall, as well as a video walk through of the Cars and Nemo areas in the future, so please stop back.

Disney Celebration Buttons

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I can’t think of a more exciting place to celebrate just about anything than at Walt Disney World.  Raymond has been at Walt Disney World on his birthday several times and celebrate we did indeed.  Megan’s friend Ashli celebrated her graduation from nursing school on a trip with us in 2012.  Raymond and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at Disney World last year.RM-Enjoying-Magic-Kingdom

You can celebrate with a special meal or fancy dessert.  You can bring along decorations for your room or buy special pin to mark the occasion.  One of the best things you can do to celebrate at Disney World is wear a celebration button!  The buttons even give you another reason to celebrate – they are absolutely free of charge!RM-Disney-Birthday-Celebration-Raymond

When you wear a Disney celebration button, you feel like a celebrity!  You certainly won’t need to throw a me-party.  Lots of Cast Members and other guests will offer well-wishes and celebrate right along with you.  You will most definitely feel special!  You’ll be wished “Happy *Insert celebratory event here*” everywhere you go.  With our anniversary buttons on, Raymond and I weren’t just offered congratulations, lots of people wanted to know our secret for staying married for 25 years.  (If we had a secret, we’d sell it and make enough money for a house at Golden Oak!)RM-Disney-Anniversary-Celebration-Button

You can let Walt Disney World know in advance that your visit will include a celebration and they’ll make a note on your reservation.  You can also wait until you arrive to let the Cast Member at your resort know you have a special occasion OR you can stop at any of the parks’ Guest Services counter and pick up a Disney Celebration Button.

For a complete list of ALL the ways Walt Disney World can help you celebrate, visit this page.

What have YOU celebrated at Walt Disney World?