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Old 9 Oct 15, 12:52 PM  
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#171
Mrs Pumpkin
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Citricos


We walked around to Citricos, which is next door to Victoria & Alberts. That restaurant is definitely one on the bucket list! We were shown to our table which was near a window. You can't see Wishes from inside Citricos, but you can go out onto the boat dock and watch them from there, which we did after dinner.












Our waiter brought us a bread basket to start, with and made some suggestions on the menu. He was friendly, chatty, and attentive. I truly cannot remember this meal – that doesn't make it a bad thing, I'm sure it was wonderful, but it was so long ago now, my memory has faded! Just looking back and the photographs, and the description of the dishes, I'm pretty confident this was another great meal.


When it comes to the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan at a table service restaurant you are entitled to one appetizer, one entrée, one dessert and one non-alcoholic beverage per person (usually refillable) Signature restaurants are 2 credits per person.

Appetizers…

Me: PEI Mussels – Spiced Poma Rosa Tomato Sauce, Crisp Chardonnay, and Caramelized Garlic ($16)

Him: Charcuterie – Prosciutto de Parma, Sopressata, Dry Pork Coppa, Beef Bresaola, Palacios Chorizo, Domestic "Olli" Artisanal Salame, Pecorino Romano, Medjool Dates, Bread and Butter Pickles, and Marcona Almonds ($16)

The Boy: Arancini – Italian Street Food, Crispy Risotto with Sweet Italian Sausage, Creamy Mozzarella, and Poma Rosa Tomato Puree ($13)






Entrées…

Me: Crispy Pan Fried Veal Chop "Elephante" – Butter Mashed Boniato, Baby Rainbow Carrots, Roasted Cipollini Onions, Citrus Butter, and Madeira Sauce ($46)

Him: Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Ribs – Palacios Chorizo Risotto, Wilted Ice Spinach, and Hand-Harvested Mushrooms with Natural Jus ($46)

The Boy: Oak-Grilled Rib-Eye Filet of Beef – Roasted Marble and Creamy Blue Cheese Potatoes with Amber Pepper and Sun-Dried Tomato Relish ($46)

The food was beautifully presented, and I'm pretty sure we switched out the blue cheese potatoes on Liam's dish for regular mashed potato. I feel awful for not remembering much about this meal… it looks like it was delicious though!






Desserts…

Liam's dessert was most impressive! Even more so against ours which looked positively boring in comparison! We paid our bill, and we had just enough time to go down to the boat dock to watch Wishes!

Me: Tropical Fruit Crème Brûlée – with Mango and Assorted Berries ($11)

Him: Seasonal Berry Gratin – with a Champagne-Grand Marnier Sabayon ($10)

The Boy: Warm Chocolate-Banana Torte – with Vanilla Ice Cream and Handcrafted Belgian Couverture Chocolate Crown ($12)







**************************************************

Citricos

Bill Total: $233.21 (6 Credits) {Tip: $43.79}

DxDDP Running Totals: Bill: $4178.02 | Credits: 121/126 | Tips: $613.79

**************************************************

The waiter took us out of the secret back entrance to save us walking all the way around, which was very kind of him. There were tables and chairs here to sit at, so we found one and sat back to wait for the fireworks display. They do not pipe the music in here, and it was really weird to watch Wishes without music… and it was amazing to see just how far back the fireworks actually go off, in relation to the castle!



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Old 9 Oct 15, 02:14 PM  
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#172
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Cookies + Candy


On our walk back through Grand Floridian to the car, we stopped in Sandy Cove Gifts & Sundries, to spend some more of our snack credits, as we still had a fair few left to use! I took photos of these things once back at home, and to share on my trip report of course!

We bought (according to our receipt): Goofy Candy, Olaf Rice Krispie Treat, Mickey Rice Krispie Treat, Mickey's Kettle Corn x2, Anna & Elsa Cookie, Minnie's Bake Shop Cookies – Peanut Butter, Raspberry & White Chocolate, White Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Supreme, and Shortbread Rounds.















**************************************************

Various Cookies & Candy

Total: $49.11 (11 Credits)

DxDDP Running Snack Totals: $312.67 | Snack Credits: 74/84

**************************************************
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Old 14 Oct 15, 12:23 PM  
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#173
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Character Cookies + Other Candies

Character Cookies + Other Candies


We went into the Conch General Store and spent the last of our snack credits on character cookies, kettle corn, cotton candy, and a few other bits. We did try to see if we could exchange our last 2 remaining dining credits for snacks instead, but they wouldn't allow us. I know this can be a bit hit and miss. In this case it was a miss, but not the end of the world.

We "spent" a grand total of $360.58 on snacks during our two weeks. A lot were on things to bring home as [free] gifts!







**************************************************

Character Cookies + Other Candies

Total: $47.91 (10 Credits)

DxDDP Running Snack Totals: $389.32 | Snack Credits: 84/84

**************************************************
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Old 14 Oct 15, 12:26 PM  
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#174
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Crossroads at House of Blues

Crossroads at House of Blues


As our flight wasn't until late afternoon, we were able to leave our suitcases safely with bell services, and then drove down to Downtown Disney for a spot of lunch at Crossroads at House of Blues. I love the style of HOB, we came here for the Gospel Brunch in 2013 and had a great time. We didn't book an ADR for this as we figured it would be busy for early lunch, and we were right, walked straight in.










We were seated in a booth and given the menu to look at. Our waitress was very chatty and friendly, and gave her personal recommendations from the menu.

When it comes to the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan at a table service restaurant you are entitled to one appetizer, one entrée, one dessert and one non-alcoholic beverage per person (usually refillable).

We ordered a selection of appetizers to share between us. Spinach and artichoke dip is one of our favourite apps, and we seek it out whenever we can! Some are better than others, and this one was good and a very generous portion!

Appetizers…

Us: Spinach and Artichoke Dip – A blend of cream cheese, mozzarella, asiago, chopped spinach and artichokes, freshly baked and served with pita chips ($10.99)

Voodoo Shrimp – The house favourite, sautéed jumbo shrimp, simmered in an amber beer reduction on top a housemade jalapeno cornbread ($14.99)

Grilled Vegetable Hand Stretched Grilled Flatbread – Topped with basil pesto, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, roasted artichoke hearts, broccolini, roasted onion and basil leaves ($12.99)






Both the boys had a burger. I decided on lobster mac 'n' cheese. From what I remember, it was quite watery, and not as creamy as I was expecting. I do actually remember feeling a bit disappointed as it was our last meal of the holiday, and I thought I should have ordered something else!

Entrées…

Me: Lobser Mac & Cheese – Tender poached lobster meat in a rich creamy cheese sauce made from scratch and topped with crunchy panko breadcrumbs ($21.99)

Him: Island Turkey Burger – Seasoned with Jamaican spices topped with Cheddar cheese on a chipotle mayo brushed brioche bun, served with crispy field greens, sliced Roma tomatoes, and French fries.($12.99)

The Boy: Smoked BBQ Bacon Burger – Topped with Cheddar cheese, smoked tomato BBQ sauce, Applewood bacon, crispy pickled jalapenos, sautéed bourbon onions on a brioche bun. ($14.99)






Because of my not as good as expected main, I ordered a lush dessert, the boys had "just" ice cream.

Desserts…

Me: Bourbon Bread Pudding - Cooked with bananas and white chocolate, finished with a bourbon caramel sauce topped with fresh whipped cream ($6.99)
Him: Vanilla Ice Cream ($4.99)

The Boy: Chocolate Ice Cream ($4.99)





**************************************************

Crossroads at House of Blues

Bill Total: $123.22 (3 Credits) {Tip: $20.82}

DxDDP Running Totals: Bill: $4301.24 | Credits: 124/126 | Tips: $634.61

**************************************************

We paid our bill, and bade farewell to our last dining experience on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan. Looking back, as I've typed out these trip reports, I see we had some fabulous dining experiences that we probably wouldn't have paid out of pocket for – especially the signature restaurants. For us as a family, we made it work, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again when staying at a Disney Resort, in fact, we have upgraded to deluxe from the free dining plan for 2015.

Whilst you are entitled to three, 3-course table service meals per day, and 2 snacks per day, per person, we didn't use them this way. We mainly had one breakfast, or if we didn't, we'd have a lunch (table or counter) instead; with a 2 point signature restaurant or dinner show to make up the points for the day. We certainly didn't have 2 snacks a day each either – most of them were used on snack items we could bring home to enjoy later, or to give as gifts – things like character cookies, popcorn, and bags of candy.

All told, we used all but 2 of our dining credits, and all of our snack credits.

As for the cost, well, we had the free Disney Dining Plan included with our resort booking, but paid $1871.10 to upgrade to Deluxe. We "paid" $4301.24 for all of the meals (table service, buffet, counter, signature, dinner shows) during our holiday. We "paid" $389.32 for snacks during our holiday.

This means food, had we paid out of pocket, would have cost us a total of $4690.56. Take away what we paid to upgrade, and that means we saved $2819.46!

Having done our sums before we went on this holiday, I know that we spent well over $2000 on dining, snacks, and food shopping for the villa on our previous holidays, so, once again, yes, the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan is worth it!

Yes, we had to pay tips – a total of $634.61, which works out roughly to $45 a day. But considering our savings, this feels like not much for the dining experiences we had on Disney property. I know people say "but what about tips" when arguing the toss against DxDDP, but our reasoning is, is you pay tips anyway, so what's the big deal?

DxDDP is not for everyone. There is a lot of planning and logistics involved! I made sure that breakfasts were early, and dinners were late, giving us enough time to digest the food, and not feel like we were overly full all of the time! In past holidays, we pretty much always had breakfast and dinner – and usually a 3 course one at that, so this was no different for us. Most dinners were outside of the parks, so we didn't feel we were tied to being in a certain park, on a certain day, so meant we could be flexible if plans changed.

TL;DR - We loved the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan!
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Old 14 Oct 15, 01:49 PM  
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#175
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Absolutely fantastic report with some amazing pictures. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
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Old 15 Oct 15, 08:43 PM  
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#176
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What a wonderful report! I seriously would love to do the DxDP and now I've read this I want to even more! I always thought I'd use it the way you have with lots of signatures and dinner shows so it's not too much food. TEMPTED! Can't wait for your next trippie! Off to read your old ones now... x
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Old 15 Oct 15, 09:06 PM  
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#177
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Can't wait to start this!
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Old 16 Oct 15, 09:30 AM  
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#178
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Originally Posted by LadyDebs86 View Post
Absolutely fantastic report with some amazing pictures. Thanks for taking the time to write this.
Thanks for reading!

Originally Posted by bambikate View Post
What a wonderful report! I seriously would love to do the DxDP and now I've read this I want to even more! I always thought I'd use it the way you have with lots of signatures and dinner shows so it's not too much food. TEMPTED! Can't wait for your next trippie! Off to read your old ones now... x
Thanks for reading! If you're thinking about doing it - do it! As a family we loved it! x

Originally Posted by Tor32 View Post
Can't wait to start this!
Hope you enjoy reading this!
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Old 16 Oct 15, 04:03 PM  
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#179
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What a great report <3 loved it!

Have a wonderful time next week
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Old 17 Oct 15, 11:05 AM  
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#180
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Originally Posted by Dutchdisneyfan View Post
What a great report <3 loved it!

Have a wonderful time next week
Thanks for reading - and thank you - we'll try
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