Upon first sight about a month ago, I pushed the green button. Free dining is very sought after when vacation planning. I admit, we wait until we hear about it before we nail down some specifics in our plans.

This year, in September, my wife, son and I will be taking our annual trip to Walt Disney World. Just recently, free dining was announced for the time period we would be there. Of course, if free dining is selected, then the room rate increases to full cost. Room discounts are offered for those that turn down the precious dining value.

Unlimited fastpasses are awesome in a busy season, but when we are going, it would be overkill. Therefore, we are back to the coveted free dining option. But wait!!

Screeeeeeeech!!

Um, room discount versus free dining… I encourage anyone looking into the Free Dining option to get figures on both ideas. Find out what it will cost for the room with and without free dining. Think, realistically, how you eat while on vacation, and look at menus to get cost figures based on your findings. Compare the costs with the room savings if free dining was being considered.

In our case, my son and my wife eat kid-sized portions. On the dining plan, both would get adult-sized portions, eat very little, and then put their unfinished plates in front of me. I would consume my plates of the meal, and then overeat by finishing theirs off. I don’t have to continue eating, sure,…but I do have a serious  problem with wasting food. By the next meal, I’m still full, and the cycle begins again. I gain more weight on the free dining plan thanks to those that have no choice but to order more food than they can physically consume.

Ok, so the green button is still enticing, but now we are starting to compare costs, and ya know,… The discounted room rate, without free dining, is the better value. We run and rerun the numbers, because we always get free dining.

Not this year!! The green button is getting passed over. As for the red button? Well, if we were going in June, then yeah, the red button would get pushed down repeatedly! This year, we’re not pushing either button. We’re designing and planning a trip that caters to our expectations, including accommodations of our every preference and whim.

How do you vote on the picture, based on your vacation to the World? Have you ever compared numbers and made a decision on Free Dining? I’m eager to learn how others deal with this offer from WDW. Leave a comment below and let me know how you and your family decide. We’re 119 days out and WDW or Bust!

So I am lucky enough to be down here for the reopening of one of my favorite eateries on Disney Property and that’s the Boardwalk Bakery. It is conveniently located on the Boardwalk and is accessable from any Epcot area resort by foot or if you are anywhere else on property just a short car ride away. Now one side note, there isn’t direct bus service to the Boardwalk so you will have to transfer at a park. Now back to the good stuff.

I was not able to make it to the reopening day on April 26th but I made it April 27th. Same thing right…as far as I know there wasn’t a celebration or anything.

The first thing you notice are two signs out front. Once for the bakery entrance and one for the refillable mug entrance. Boardwalk Bakery has now become one of the official refill spots for the Boardwalk area resorts.

When you enter the Bakery there is a very large case with all kinds of treats. Starting on the left you have baked goods followed by the current sandwich offering, which was a breakfast sandwich, then in the far right case you have cupcakes, brownies and other chocolate goodies.

The drink refill station is large and well laid out. They also brew their own coffee here, none of the Nescafe that we have all grown to love or hate through the years. The coffee is good but not great. I am enjoying a cup right now so it can’t be too bad…

What did I finally take back to the resort you may ask? Well I snagged a nice apple tart and to mickey muffins, one a chocolate chip and one a cranberry. They were all delicious but it’s all in the name of research and reporting right?

]]> http://wdworbust.net/2013/04/27/boardwalk-bakery-after-refurbishment/feed/ 0 wdworbust1 http://wdworbust.net/2013/04/26/live-report-part-2/ http://wdworbust.net/2013/04/26/live-report-part-2/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:04:53 +0000 Garland https://wdworbust1.wordpress.com/?p=1002 Continue reading →]]> Wow what an exhausting day! We have had a blast and it’s only day one! The bulk of today has been spent in epcot and it was not wasted. We had some great food and some interesting wine. Dinner tonight at the turf club at Saratoga Springs resort. Look for more updates in Facebook until then ttfn!

If you follow the blog but haven’t “liked” us on Facebook yet I encourage you to do so. Click the like button on the left side of the blog page or Facebook.com/wdworbust The posts will be more frequent there throughout the day!

I have already posted some pictures there and on Instagram

While preparing for our upcoming trip I was checking one if my favorite planning sites allears.net. I will be honest that the Flower and Garden Festival is one of my favorite special events in any park. No hard ticket required. (A hard ticket event is one that requires a separate ticket purchase for entry, i.e. Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party) This event is one that requires no special entry ticket to be able to enjoy all the festival goings on. From the Flower Power concerts, we will get to see ELO and I can’t wait, to the gardening seminars and demonstrations and this year they have added special food options similar to those found during the Food and Wine Festival which takes place in the fall months. Being a self proclaimed foodie I was very excited to read on allears:

Garden Marketplace culinary creations ranging from smokehouse barbecue and shrimp with grits and Zellwood corn to sweet "frushi" made with fresh fruits and coconut rice. Chefs are perfecting menus for marketplaces that will include Florida Fresh at World Showcase Promenade, Smokehouse Barbecue and Brew at American Adventure courtyard, Primavera Kitchen at Italy showcase, Hanami at Japan showcase and eight others. Around the World Showcase promenade

Garden Marketplace refreshing libations with a kick like Hot Sun Tomato Wine from Florida Orange Groves Winery and Dole Whip with Spiced Rum, as well as non-alcoholic drinks like Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade and Wild Berry Slush. Beverage specialists will feature brews and beverages at food marketplaces and at Fruits by the Glass and Pineapple Promenade. Around the World Showcase promenade

Fresh food options and hand crafted drinks, especially the hot sun tomato wine…I may not even ride the first ride during our Epcot day. I guess I will have to pace myself for dinner at Le Chefs de France. Expect a full review with pictures when we return. Also live posting as well. Check out our facebook page to get live picture updates while we are there. The fun and excitement starts tomorrow…stay tuned becuase one way or another we are WDW or Bust!

    Now I am not one for early morning breakfast reservations. I am more of a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll kind of guy. But on this trip we departed from the norm and had breakfast with Donald and his safari pals at Tusker House restaurant. This was mainly a reservation made to satisfy the character meal requirement. So we went, I wasn’t expecting much just normal run of the mill breakfast food. Boy was I wrong. They had the pastries and dry cereals like so many breakfast establishments. But this one has a little more. The hot options included a spiced corned beef hash, oatmeal with all the add ins, carved honey ham, and of course bacon. The star for me was the spiced corned beef hash. It was outstanding. Then the characters started to come around. Now since it was Donald’s Safari Breakfast he was the first one we met as we walked in. We had our group picture taken and then we were escorted into the restaurant. You can ask them to take a picture with your camera or have them add it to your Photopass card. They also bring the print to your table for purchase. I usually don’t bite but this one was exceptionally good so they got me that day. After all the characters made the rounds we payed our check and left. One last note of the Tusker House. The service was excellent and the safari punch is very tasty and refreshing.

    Another thing about breakfast. We booked the earliest reservation possible so we could take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours that morning. I am not against morning sit down breakfasts it’s just that, that is prime park touring time that I don’t like to give up.

While we were waiting and taking a mid morning break, we were slow because we were so full, we came across this sign posted in Harambe. I love the little touches that the imagineers put throughout the parks.

The time had come for our safari through the Harambe wildlife preserve. I was really excited to go on this becuase this was the first time I had been able to ride it without the "little red" story line and the first with the addition of the zebras. It was very early in the morning and all the animals were out and about. It was quite a show. I will say that the little red story line isn’t missed and the addition of the zebras is a welcome addition. I am not sure why but I have always loved zebras.

One thing I have learned about Animal Kingdom with a small child. They get bored easily. My son wanted to do nothing but get loose and run around, like most 18 month olds I guess. It was a fun day chasing a small child and bypassing all the exhibits. I’m just kidding. In all seriousness the Maharaja Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail did offer a great place for Hudson to run and burn off some steam. The trails are wide enough for him to feel a little freedom and narrow enough that you don’t end up chasing him from Africa to Asia.

One of the hilights of the day was taking my little one to the Dino Dig. A place just for him to run around on a spongy rubber surface where he can climb and crawl all over everything. He had a blast and there was enough room and play areas for everyone. It was a great day. Nothing new was really going on in Animal Kingdom that day. The construction hadn’t started yet on the new Festival of the Lion King area.

Stay tuned for the next installment where we go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Until then it’s WDW or Bust!

This installment of Good Eats, Walt Disney World takes us to the Landscapes of Flavor at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. I promise every post won’t be about desserts, but that’s not always a bad thing right? This dessert is a rich chocolate ganache resting on top of a Mickey shaped cookie with a white chocolate classic Mickey face. I had a sweet tooth one night after dinner at Landscape of Flavors and this satisfied that craving and then some. I would recommend that this be one of those desserts that is shared between chocolate lovers as it can be a bit much to eat all at once. It is a grab an go item, which means that it is always ready and in the cooler for a quick treat. Keep in mind that they are always trying new things at Landscape of Flavors so you may not always find the same dessert or food offerings. However, that leaves ample room to find a new favorite. Look for another review of the food offerings at Landscape of Flavors in the coming weeks. Until then…it WDW or Bust!

What do think? I love these and continue to be amazed at what a pioneer Walt actually was. If you like this then check out the entire Album. Animation Album (will open in new window)

Via Allears.net:

The BoardWalk Bakery is set to reopen on Friday, April 26 at 6:15 a.m., after a renovation of several months. The bakery will sport an all-new look, with a new entrance, queue, signage and more. The bakery will also feature an expanded menu with a soup or salad and sandwich combo, pastries and specialty beverages. The newly refurbished bakery will also have a refillable mug station for those staying at the BoardWalk Inn and Villas

I will be at Walt Disney World this weekend and I will do my best to get Pictures at the reopening of the Boardwalk Bakery! Maybe even a treat or two.