Oh no, what a shame about the steak. Afraid I'm a total snob and go for filet wherever possible, but then again I don't like fatty steaks but it's good to see you had amazing service , Debby sounds wonderful xx

Well all I can say is, I'm in awe of your prolific posting of your trip - don't know how you do it! Love the Dining update at the end, it really does give an indication as to the true cost and enormity of your trip.
Le Cellier - another family who have not returned since they went to 2ts credits, for exactly the reasons you gave, too noisy and the seating can be a bit of a roulette as to how close you get to the toilet.

Crystal Palace for breakfast My greatest nemesis - why be eating when there is Magic Kingdom at the quietest it will be all day ? I'm sure the last time we did this I spent the time twitching as we received the usual dismal Disney breakfast buffet, which no matter how much you try to eat will never reach the OOP cost charged

Love that Redds Revenge in MK though.

As for Narcoossee's - I'm sure with a cold centered steak there is a risk of salmonella that would possibly spoil your holiday , but to actually advertise it as that Maybe you need to sign a disclaimer

Your starters look beautiful and even the photyo of your surf and turf looks better than your experience - have to admit I was pleading with you not to change as I read!
Would have gone with the Filet Mignon every time.

Now looking forward to seeing who you run away with

As always - fantastic reading

It’s been a bit hit and miss reading through the last few days. I would have been gutted about your steak and I think I would have had to say something to Debby.
Your breakfast burrito looked really nice I would be tempted to try it even though I’m not a big fan of eggs!
I would happily pay oop for that poutine it looks fab.
I really fancy a red revenge-the pirate hat looks cute!

I need to stop reading this report, I keep going and swapping around our reservations :-)
I have never done a buffet, at Disney I just find with 6 of us the meal of us is so disjointed as the kids are always hopping up and down to get something, and we are done a lot quicker, Crystal Palace looks shameful
Fabulous reading as ever xx

I am terrible for switching reservations around, I do it right to the last minute You are probably wise to avoid buffets, even with just the two of us and no kids to rally I find them stressful. We never seem to get our money's worth either.


It definitely seems really hit and miss looking back. Luckily we had a good couple of days coming up! Thank you for reading xxx


I had a wee bit of a naughty day off posting yesterday whilst I caught up on Bake Off

Next time we are breakfasting at MK I will stick to Main Street Bakery.

Laughed aloud at the bit about salmonella. I will be forevermore perplexed about that steak.

Thank you for reading!


She really was, she was an older lady and I felt sad for her that she probably should have been retired but she did seem to enjoy her job.


Thank you for the hint about the birthday club, I'll look it up. Already terrified about the OOP costs for next year. We may see more offsite restaurants next year.


Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it!


We have paid for Signatures meals OOP in the past but I definitely agree DDP only moving forward.

So what do you do about the fees? You need to cancel before midnight the day before, no? Or does it work to postpone to a later date and then cancel?

Day 7

It was hard to believe it we had been here for a week! Today we were supposed to be hitting MK from rope drop until fireworks, we even had special t-shirts to celebrate the day. Unfortunately Nik was still suffering from his cold so the plan went out the window.

I didn't want to waste my morning sitting in the room so I decided to head out on an adventure. I went to the bus stop and just hopped on the first bus that came.



He still has no idea Please God he doesn't read this.

I was secretly glad it was an AK bus as we hadn't planned on going back there and I still had snacks I wanted to try.

ISLE OF JAVA

I had scouted out this location of this during After Hours so headed straight there.

Tiger Tail Twist $5.31



This was tastier than the Cheshire Cat tail, perhaps it was fresher!? A pretty good snack credit I felt.

Macaw Speciality Beverage Minute Maid Lemonade, Fanta Cherry, Fanta Blue Raspberry $5.31



They were displaying the breakfast menu when I arrived and I had a bit of a panic as the Macaw wasn't advertised. They were still advertising slushies though so I asked for a mix with the lemonade, cherry and raspberry and the CMs smiiled and said 'That's a Macaw'. This looked and tasted great.

Mini Cinnamon Buns with Coffee Caramel Dipping Sauce $4.57



These were one of the things I most wanted to try; I'd recently seen them on Disney Food Blog and knew they weren't necessarily a permanent menu item. They weren't advertised on the kiosk menu but they were on a little card by the till. I was so happy. These were as good as they sound.

I was very pleased with my breakfast. I sat in the deserted seating area at Flame Tree Barbecue and people watched, it was a very peaceful start to the day.

I then walked over to Pandora in search of more snacks. I had been manically refreshing MDE to see if a Flight of Passage FP for a single rider might pop up, but it wasn't to be.

PONGU PONGU

Animal Kingdom is really great for breakfast options, I didn't even know Pongu Pongu had a breakfast menu. They were serving breakfast sandwiches and French toast sticks. I was in search of a Colossal Pretzel but sadly they weren't serving them yet. Of course, I still picked up a

Night Blossom Layers of Apple and Desert Pear Limeade topped with Passion Fruit Boba Balls $6.38



This is Disney's best slushy, not too sweet and very fruity. It includes the souvenir glow cube even for a snack credit which is great value.

I just had a stroll around the park, not doing any attractions. The remaining snacks on my AK list were the corn from Harambe Fruit Market but they weren't serving it yet , the Colossal Cinnamon Roll which I decided against at Kusafari Bakery as the line was so long and the Baked Mac & Cheese from Eight Spoon Cafe, sadly they were closed too.

I found the Fichwa! wall for the first time ever.



Nik was awake now so I headed back to CSR, unsurprisingly I was the only person on the bus haha.

Lunch today was supposed to have been the Festival of Fantasy dining package at Tony's, as much as we loved it last year we decided to cancel. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do for lunch, but we knew we wanted to go to Disney Springs. I checked MDE for restaurant availability but it was looking a bit uninspiring. Then I checked Open Table and most places were wide open.

We decided on

STK ORLANDO

When STK first opened and I read it was a night club come steak house I knew it was not our kind of place. But last year I saw Disney Daffodil's review and she said it was a really nice atmosphere so I decided we might give it a go after all. It was worried about loud music during the evening so I thought lunch was the best time for us to visit.

You can see their menu here: disneyworld.disney.go/en...akhouse/menus/

When we checked in I started to get a little apprehensive that we'd made a mistake, all of the staff looked and dressed like models and I felt like a bit of a tramp. I was just being silly, the staff were perfectly friendly and the restaurant had a really chilled atmosphere. The music was at an appropriate volume and they were playing 80s stuff which was great as I'd envisaged loud dance tunes. I probably need to spend less time worrying about things that are not even going to happen/

As it was Saturday they were serving their brunch menu.



We weren't going to have a starter but Nik was torn between a burger and something else for his main so I suggested we get the sliders to start.

Lil' BRGs Wagyu Beef, Special Sauce, Sesame Seed Bun



Ooo these were perfection. So juicy. Even the buns were gorgeous.

You may remember that last year I regretted not ordering ALL of the sauces at Chicken Guy, well we would be having no repeats of that here. I paid OOP for the Sauce Plate

The sauces were STK, STK Bold, Au Poivre, Horseradish, Chimichurri, Blue Butter, Bearnaise and Red Wine.



The STK sauce was tangy like a barbecue and the Bold was a spicier version. My favourites were the Bearnaise and Chimichurri. I don't usually like Horseradish but the sauce was actually really nice. We both loved the Sauce Plate, it was very fun.

I had Filet 6oz with Truffle Butter (again another additional charge for this)



Best steak I have had anywhere ever! I ate every piece, it was to die for.

Sides aren't included at STK on the dining plan so we also paid extra for these.

Mac & Cheese



This tasted just like my mum's and she makes the best macaroni in the world.

Parmesan Truffle Fries



These were really good but everything else was so amazing that I didn't really need them. The sides are plenty to share for more than two people.

Nik had Wagyu Hot Dog Short Rib Onion Marmalade, Truffle Aioli



This was his first hot dog of the trip. I thought from the description that the hot dog would be made of waygu but it was actually topped with it! Nik loved this, like the sliders, he thought the bun was also really good, it was absolutely lathered in the aioli.

Our server told us that all of the team in the restaurant had recently had to try all the new brunch items and that the hot dog was her favourite. It's only $14 and she thinks it's the best thing on the menu

We didn't bother with dessert as we were absolutely stuffed and we didn't want to take anything to go as we were heading to Magic Kingdom straight from Disney Springs so it would have ended up a real mess in the car.

STK is a 2-credit restaurant so lunch used up 4 credits and cost $165.92. Of course, given that Nik's hot dog was so cheap, we didn't get our money's worth but we absolutely loved our meal and had no qualms about splashing out 4 credits, the beauty of the DxDP. Our OOP costs were $57.51 and we left a $45 tip. OOP this would be a crazily expensive meal but I highly recommend STK. I am pretty confident that it will be on the list for next year.

We headed to Ghiradelli for dessert. We had a single cup each which were covered by a snack credit or are $5.06.



Nik had Cookies and Cream and I had Black Cherry Vanilla. I am always searching for something comparable to Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, my ice cream came very close but missed the chocolate chunks, I probably should have had a topping but I wasn't sure about the snack credit value and it was so busy I didn't want to hold the CMs up.

We bought these bad boys to save for Christmas.



I was so excited to see the legendary Peppermint Bark as we've been too early for it on recent trips.

We had a wander around Disney Springs. I was in search of the new limited release 10th Anniversary Dooney & Bourke Magic Band. I had seen it in MK the night before and stupidly hadn't bought it. There was none left at Ever After Jewelry.



They did have this Little Mermaid Dooney that I had fallen in love with on our first day. I really wanted it but I wasn't allowed a new Dooney this trip as I'd already bought the cat one earlier in the year.

We went to Marketplace Co-Op, which is probably my favourite Disney Springs store. I wanted a personalised phone case and the signs said they'll be made in 'minutes' so I decided to go for it, only to be told after paying that it would be 45 minutes



There was nothing else to do but shop Then we get to the Dooney section and it's game over. I spent 45 minutes agonising over bags, finally narrowing it down to two and then asking Instagram to help me choose.

The winner:



I already have a bag with the sketch print but I do love it. I was very glad this was the winning bag as although the Ariel one is gorgeous, it's similar in shape to my cat one and I really love the shape of this one.

Remember, I needed a new park bag

Anyway, enough about bags

We got to MK and I march straight to Uptown Jewellers. The Magic Bands were on display at the till the day before but they are gone now, I am sad. Then I see a lady with one in her hands, I ask the CMs and she produces one from a drawer.



It is too nice to wear!

Wow MK on non-party nights during party season is a hellish place to be. It was just so, so busy. We checked in early for the Happily Ever After Dessert party just to get out of the madness.

I didn't bother with pictures of the buffet selections as they were pretty much the same as last year.



The strawberries are my favourite, but the cookies and cream push pop was very good! I tried the Cheeseburger Spring Rolls again just to test if I was right in my assessment of not liking them last year, I'm still not keen, although Nik liked them. The spinach dip was the best item on the buffet. I went back for more, so cheesy and no spinach taste at all.

We hadn't had dinner so got something to eat back at CSR. I was really tired, it had been a long day for me and I wasn't thinking straight - we went to the food court instead of trying Three Bridges

EL MERCADO DE CORONADO

You can see their menu here: disneyworld.disney.go/en...oronado/menus/

Nik had Individual Pepperoni Pizza



These are cooked fresh to order. He had spoken about how good this pizza was at length ever since.

I had Buttermilk Fried Chicken served with Mashed Red Bliss Potatoes, Charred Corn Succotash and Corn Bread



Stupidly, I'd ordered my food first and stood waiting for Nik's pizza with it going cold on the tray. When will I learn how to navigate a food court?! The mash was nice but as you can see from the picture the chicken was ready for the bin. It was so dry it was pretty inedible.

So I went back up for something else

Beef Nachos Corn Tortilla Chips layered with Beef, Cheese Sauce, Refried Beans and choice of Toppings



Yummy!

As we hadn't been planning on eating at the FC we didn't have our refillable mugs with us so had to buy our drinks. $52.98 for dinner

I think this is the only time this trip where I regretted eating somewhere

DxDP Daily Cost: $232.50
Actual Daily Spend: $240.47
DxDP Cost to Date: $1,377
Actual Cost to Date: $1,543.45
Table Service Credits: 40/78
Snack Credits: 23/52
Unfinished Business: 6/12
Tips: $256

Yes, that's the loophole It will work until about an hour before your reservation. I luckily haven't been charged yet.

Those mini cinnamon rolls at AK look amazing. Im super impressed at how much food you fitted in all day lol!

I've always thought the food at STK looked good, but super loud music is my restaurant pet hate and I'd also heard about the nightclub atmosphere. I wonder if they've toned that down or if it's still like that in the evening? It looks sooo good, but nearly $60 extra you had to pay on top of having the deluxe plan! Ouch.

I wonder if that pizza from the CS food court is similar to the Riverside pizza my husband still talks about pretty much every day since we came home lol. It doesn't look the same but sounds like it was just as good?

Hopefully Nic doesn't read this I would love to have taken off for a morning on my own and just have a mooch about, no men, no kid's ahhh bliss.

Has the night blossom changed? It never used to come with an ice cube did it? I do like it though!

STK sounds and looks lovely, that Mac N Cheese ... I could so eat that right now.

Those Dooney's bag's are beautiful. Funnily enough I just seen one on Instagram yesterday that I fell in love with so I've sent it to Mr Grump in the hope he gets the hint for Christmas it matches my hand luggage Disney case too so will definitely be coming on the next trip

A great day, but shame about the evening meal, before I read what you said I thought the chicken looked awful, I wouldn't have eaten it either!

Watching those costs add up is making my eyes water! X