Loving your report, great writing ! And doing it live- I look forward to your updates every evening !

I laughed at your pain au chocolate ordering issue - same happened to me,but there was no sign saying chocolate croissant. Took me and DH about 5 minutes to eventually get the server to understand what we wanted !

The Lexington was a masterpiece of an ice cream sundae wasted on a 12 year old


We did have the sense that he's been there a while. He was lovely though and we were very respectful although he made it feel like we were dining on The Love Boat. Told us he worked in Liverpool at one stage I was struggling to imagine him there. I suspect it was a long time ago!


Thanks for reading and glad you're enjoying, I'm trying to catch up before we leave Disney Surely Starbucks should train employees in the real names of their products!

Breakfast - Cape May Cafe (Beach Club Hotel)

DD and I left DW waiting a little this morning as she’d headed down first and we were late. A cast member saw her waiting alone and gave her a rose which was a nice touch.


Meantime she’d also secured a ‘takeout mimosa’

At what stage does this move from cocktail to something you’d drink under a railway arch?

Cape May is a character buffet featuring a summery version of Minnie plus Donald, Daisy and Goofy. It’s an extensive spread, there’s more even than pictured below (main hot stuff and pancakes etc.)






DD’s plate was fairly normal.


Meantime DW hardly ate anything while I had a couple of goes at Are You Brighter than the President (Dining Edition) with buffet items. The first was sweet and I feel captured his political gravitas but at the expense of Mickey’s dignity so has to be a fail.


The second is a little more abstract but if you can see the omelette and tater tots as the hair, hopefully the rest falls into place?

the omelette was indeed better than the one I had at California Grill Brunch

Apart from the mimosa, DD had the usual and I went for coffee and of course a signature glass of milk. We then settled down and concentrated on meeting the characters.


Leading to the inevitable (meme that was in my intro post at one stage but binned as too creepy for post 1 )

One for the IT Crowd fans!

Bill came to I think it was like $90 but might be wrong, will have to check later.


This receipt is the DDP one which shows we still had a scary 18 credits to go with only 24 hours remaining at this stage (thankfully this was before DW redefined dining credits at reception and turned some of them into $)!

Lol I thought the yachtsman a bit stuffy too but I just thought it was the Manc accent and scruffy flip flops and shorts we were wearing ... although the food was ace. Our server kept telling me everything on the menu was the best in Disney world and then I spilled my wine on him. Good review thanks for sharing.

I'm not sure I'd have gone in there in flip flops, this place is exactly the sort of restaurant my dad dreams of. If he ever stayed there he wouldn't want to try anywhere else. Food is great though

- Snack update
- Sommerfest & EPCOT t-shirt Challenge

We started the process of whittling down remaining credits with another classic snack burner, Chip and Dale’s nutty treats.


I traded a deluxe DS credit for 3 snacks. Not the greatest use but these are effectively free TS credits now so it feels less wasteful. Picked up 3 of Chip and Dale’s finest long shelf life products which would have cost @$16:


We had two food and drink items still to bag. First it’s to China for a brownish drink. I purchase a Canto Loopy from the Joy of Tea as recommended by MissFortune many weeks ago.


This drink is a delight to my surprise. The melon flavour is delicious. Then I get ⅔ of the way down and it becomes vodka with chilled water, this is not so great but no matter, the brownish drink is done and China conquered strictly in t-shirt terms. Stir this drink if you buy it, stir it well or you may regret it

Then it was over to Germany on a mission to bag a hot dog. The girls were at Tutto Italia for lunch, I was at pokey little Sommerfest. Ordered my bratwurst and drink (pass on the dessert, it’s deluxe day 10 after all) and...the magic band system is down in EPCOT. Cash or card only I briefly consider calling the whole thing off and buying a burger in the USA

But no, this challenge means more to me than walking @75 metres back to fake Italy so I bravely trekked across where the Alps should be to get to Tutto Italia. Cash secured from DW and I’m back in the game. I saunter over to the counter at Sommerfest like I’ve ordered a hot dog before (I have in fact, several times) and order a bratwurst meal like a boss, you can hold the sauerkraut. Sommerfest is poorly equipped with tables to eat at, one bench inside and 5 tables outside, 3 of them are occupied by lone oddballs who probably have no intention of buying sausage so I walk on to the lakeside and sit on a bench with my prize.

EPCOT t-shirt Challenge 22/22

A wading bird circles me in a vaguely threatening manner but I can stare down a seagull holding a cone of chips (that’s me with the chips by way of clarification). I know victory is mine as I hold the bratwurst aloft to the sky and shout with joy as I complete the t-shirt challenge. For the record this was adequate, good sausage the bun and chips meh. Later we would have it refunded and deducted as a TS credit.

Metres away in Tutto Italia I am sure the family wish they were with me instead of tucking into ravioli in the air conditioning.

DW/DD Lunch - Tutto Italia (EPCOT Italy)

Originally this was a solo DW lunch but DD fancied some decent Italian after the let down of Via Napoli and I was committed to visiting China and Germany. Tutto Italia is the slightly fancier Italy eatery but still a one credit. They started with a virgin strawberry daiquiri (DD) and a negroni (DW). The bread selection is also pictured, this bread was apparently stale so a bad start albeit the negroni was good the daiquiri was also a lowlight.


From there however things picked up. DD chose prosciutto and ended up with a big plate of quality stuff (have you noticed that she likes meat!). DW went for arancini, these were much smaller and tastier than the Via Napoli offerings, filled with lobster and shrimp and a proper tomato sauce to accompany it.



For the main course they both ordered and loved a ricotta stuffed ravioli dish.


Before rounding off the meal with stracciatella and chocolate ice cream and just stracciatella for DW.



The bill came to $138 for 2.


They were very impressed and would definitely return. Seems like a much better DDP option at the moment than Via Napoli

Dinner - Flying Fish (Disney’s Boardwalk)

For dinner we braved steady rain to walk around the lake to the Boardwalk for a visit to the signature restaurant Flying Fish (tonight it was Fling Fish as DD pointed out - via a sign malfunction). We started with drinks net door in the relatively new Abracadabar. This is magic themed and beautiful inside. We ordered a J&DC for DW, a non-alcoholic Magic Mirror for DD and a Conjurita for me.

Conjurita and Magic Mirror

Both cocktails were on the sour side and TBH a little disappointing. DD’s went back for some sugar syrup but she still struggled to drink what from the ingredients should not have been that sour.


At our reservation time we walked through to Flying Fish next door to check in. Beautiful dining room, modern and stylish, much more to our tastes than the Yachtsman. We had a nice, very attentive waiter from the UK and ordered drinks:

Another Daiquiri for DD (this one was the best so far)

DW went for another Jamesons and I ordered the recommended wine for my main, a chardonnay. To start I went for the cheese board.



Too much cheese here, a lot of it very good. My favourite was the caveman blue in the middle which was wonderful and very palatable for someone who isn’t a big blue cheese fan. The aged gouda, mozzarella curd and the chili accompaniments were also very good. At the same time, black olive bread and pesto whipped butter also arrived. I didn’t really get the chance to enjoy these but DD enjoyed a lot as a respite from her grilled romaine salad starter that tasted more like fag ash than anything else (I also think baba ganoush tastes of it so maybe that was the flavour!).

Avoid

DW’s starter were tasty little crab croquettes that she adored. These were one of her favourite starters of the holiday, a definite hit - packed with long shreds of crab meat and served with a creamy sauce (it’s a new menu/not on the website yet).


As a main course, DD ordered lamb osso bucco which came in a rich gravy with a thin mash. I like the veal version of this dish, a specialty of DW’s part of Italy and something her mother could make sing but never seen it with lamb before, its a kind of slow cooked tender dish (from the shin DW tells me). Anyway this was delicious, super-rich and decadent with extra flavour from the lamb. She could only manage half of the meat, it was a huge portion.


DW ordered Sea Bass and again this was a hit. Beautifully prepared and favoured on a bed of leeks although she didn’t even try the sauce on the side this time.


My main was of Hokkaido scallops served medium so a touch opaque in the middle by design. These were great but huge, managed 3 of them along with some of the corn and grits they were served with. For the record I now know that grits can taste great...they just don’t very often so we can file them away with polenta. Great dish, all the mains were flawless to be fair.


The service was great too, when DW went to the restroom the server was over within seconds to ask us if he should keep her dish warm until she was back. I have never seen that before

Desserts we were on the full side but agreed for DD and I to share a portion of the chocolate hazelnut dessert with chocolate ganache.


This looks very dark in the picture, in fact it was light milk chocolate mousse on the inside. I would have taken a picture to show the colour contrast but as soon as we cut into it a race started for who could shovel the most in before it was all gone. I think I won but it was a close run thing.


So a total of $244 and this is highly recommended After the meal we ran down our remaining snacks and meals still further:

So as the sun sets on the 10th day of our Deluxe Dining Plan adventure I look over from the lake towards the Big River Grill and Brewing Works. A single, salt tear runs down my cheek for we must depart for Universal Studios tomorrow and there are no more deluxe dining credits to conquer

Don't go Mary, we've still got breakfast at Ale and Compass

Wow, a sprint finish for the dining plan.

The lunch at Paddlefish looked delicious, great work to get the starter included. Also, the Tutto Italia lunch for DD and DW looked tasty, what a lot of prosciutto.

I now know where to get a good non alcoholic strawberry daquiri which is exceptionally helpful, thanks to your DD for ordering all the daquiris. Plus also she should be thanked for comparing all the steak options! Which was her favourite? Was it the French one? I've lost track!

Also, I can't quite believe you bothered to get your leftovers boxed up so you could snack on them later. While I can understand the not wanting to be wasteful it must have been a bit like Christmas day when my dad says shall we have a turkey sandwich? and I'm thinking we had a 3 course lunch barely a couple of hours ago, I've eaten half my weight in chocolate, drunk a fair amount of wine and I think I may burst if I eat anything more and what I actually say is ooh yes I really fancy that!

It's sad that you are saying good bye to WDW, it sounds like you had a blast though, enjoy yourselves at Uni.