Just Got Back

[psdisney]

Arrived May 5th, left on May 12th. Had a Grand Gathering of 12 people (7 adults and 5 kids aged 8, 6, 5, 2 and 1). We had a fantastic time! Did the dining plan and was well worth the money. It is a lot of food, but if you eat a light breakfast and have an early lunch you should be ready for dinner! Stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge – the whole party got upgraded to Savanna view, it was awesome!

Saturday – Liberty Tree Tavern (Just me and my husband) – Fantastic, everything was great, especially the apple cobbler for dessert! The characters came around more than once.

Sunday – Sci-Fi Theater (Entire Grand Gathering) – Good selection of appetizer and entrees! The big screen kept the kids entertained and they really loved sitting in the cars. Get a shake instead of a soda…yum!

Monday – Ohana’s (Just me and my husband)– My 2nd favorite place we ate! The food just kept on coming and everything was so good! The dessert was awesome!

Tuesday – Cape May Café (Entire Grand Gathering) – Great selection on the buffet, the baby back ribs were really good and if you like mussels and clams and shrimp this is the place to go.

Wednesday/Breakfast – Chef Mickey’s (Entire Grand Gathering) – Really good and the characters came around more than once. The french toast was my favorite. We paid OOP for this one.

Wednesday/Dinner – Le Cellier (Me, my husband and father-in-law) – My favorite restaurant in all of WDW! Everything from the appetizers to entrees to desserts is out of this world! Had the filet with the maple BBQ sauce and cream cheese mashed potatoes! Yum!

Thursday – Boma (Me, my husband and father-in-law) – Best buffet in WDW. It is so great to try different things and the dessert selection is great. Love the Zebra domes!

Friday – San Angel Inn (Me, my husband, father-in-law, brother-in-law and 2 year old nephew) – Good food, but great atmosphere! Wait a few extra minutes and ask to be seated right on the river, is well worth it!

Yummy snack options…dole whip, sundae from Mrs. Potts!

I'm already looking forward to our next trip, even though it will probably be several years from now...unless I can talk my husband into the DVC!

 

[wdwmagic]

THanks for the dining report. If you have time, we'd appreciate any restaurant comments on our review system at http://reviews.wdwmagic.com

 

[coltow]

Did you do any of the Grand Gathering packages?

Were you all seated together when you ate together?

 

[psdisney]

We did not do any of the grand gathering packages, although I wish we did the Illuminations one, that is my favorite show! We sat together at Cape May Cafe, had 2 cars next to each other at Sci-Fi and at Chef Mickey's had 2 tables next to each other. I think when you are checking in, if your ADR's are not for everyone together you can ask if its possible, they were able to accomodate us at Cape May like that after I asked. We booked our trip in February and didn't start making ADR's unitl March, so if you making them further out you may be able to get tables together.

Also, just a side note, my nephew has a peanut allergy and my sister in law was very impressed at how all the restaurants (even counter service) handle all her questions and told her what he could and couldn't eat.

 

[coltow]

Thanks for the info. We are planning on a grand gathering next summer. If everyone goes that right now says they are there will be 17 of us (but I have a feeling 3 people will back out). So I was just curious how the dining worked for you. We keep saying that we should plan 1 meal a day just so we see each other so we want to sit together.

 

[coltow]

Also, how did AKL work for your party? That's where we'd like to stay, provided everyone can afford it.

 

[k.hunter30]

Thanks for the info. We are planning on a grand gathering next summer. If everyone goes that right now says they are there will be 17 of us (but I have a feeling 3 people will back out). So I was just curious how the dining worked for you. We keep saying that we should plan 1 meal a day just so we see each other so we want to sit together.

I just got back from a Grand Gathering trip as well. (May 5-11) The 8 of us were seated at the same table at Boma and Crystal Palace. We were seated at adjacent tables at CRT. The rest of the TS (Le Cellier, Chefs de France) we split up for - and I'm glad we did. Trying to organize everyone together EVERY DAY of our trip would have been even more of a hassle - but then again our group was all family... and you know how that can get.

We did the Magical Fireworks Voyage Grand Gathering experience. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it! Aside from the DP, it's the greatest deal we took advantage of!

 

[coltow]

We did the Magical Fireworks Voyage Grand Gathering experience. It was wonderful and I highly recommend it! Aside from the DP, it's the greatest deal we took advantage of!

Was the music piped in? I heard it wasn't. I cannot image watching Wishes without the music.

 

[wdwmagic]

Was the music piped in? I heard it wasn't. I cannot image watching Wishes without the music.

Some of the boats have an audio feed, but not all. You can check this when you make the reservation.

 

[psdisney]

We all LOVED AKL (kids included)! We didn't have any problems with the transportation to the parks. The rooms were really nice, we were right on the 3rd floor. I would stay there again and would recommend it to anyone, in fact I'm trying to talk my husband into buying the DVC at AKL. There is construction going on, but we didn't notice it. The atmosphere is great and it seemed quiet to me! I give it 5 stars!

 

[k.hunter30]

Was the music piped in? I heard it wasn't. I cannot image watching Wishes without the music.

Yes, for the Magical Fireworks Voyage (grand gathering-only) the music is always piped in - that's what I was told. I'm not sure about chartered boats though.