Showing posts with label Grand Floridian Resort. Show all posts
Disney Vacation Club To Add Villas At Grand Floridian Resort
Villas in the works for Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney Vacation Club is developing an estimated 147 villas as part of the previously announced expansion of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Estimated to open in late 2013 near Disney's Wedding Pavilion, the resort's slated to become the 12th Disney Vacation Club property.
"We continually look for ways to expand Disney Vacation Club by creating resort experiences that our Members will love," said Claire Bilby, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Disney Vacation Club. "With the continued popularity of Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort, we are thrilled to offer our Members and Guests a new resort option along the monorail beam with easy access to the Magic Kingdom Park, as well as a variety of shopping, dining and recreation experiences."
Disney Dining Plan? Three Disney World Restaurants You Must Try!
Three Disney Dining Plan Deals
Each of the three restaurants that are featured provide excellent Disney Dining Plan deals. That means that eating at these restaurants and paying cash would be more expensive than your typical Disney World Restaurant, but they still only require the use of one Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit to eat there.
These restaurants all have special elements that you will not find in local restaurants in your area. They provide menus with interesting cuisine, excellent theming, and two out of the three also provide special entertainment.
Using the Disney Dining Plan is an excellent way to experience these three excellent Disney World Restaurants and still keep to your budget. They will make your Disney World Vacation experience even more memorable.
Situated within the Norway Pavilion of Epcot's World Showcase is the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. Inside this medieval, royal eating establishment you will be treated to Norwegian cuisine, and you will also have one of the best opportunities to meet Disney Princesses anywhere in Disney World.
The meal is often referred to as the Princess Storybook Dining. It is available for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, but Dinner would be the best use of your Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit. Normally the dinner would cost $46.85 per adult and $25.55 per child. This includes the entire meal, non-alcoholic beverage, dessert and one photo package per group taken with one of the Disney Princesses when you arrive.
Typically you will encounter a number of Disney Princesses during your meal that will make appearances at your table and pose for pictures with your party. You may see: Aurora, Snow White, Belle, Mulan, Jasmine, and others.
If you (or your children) are a fan of Disney Princesses this is the place to be!
The dinner is also special at the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. From the official Akershus menu: "Everyone’s Royal Feast begins with a"Taste of Norway"This magnificent feast includes sliced deli meats, seafood, and a grand selection of prepared salads and cheeses."
The entrees include: Pan Seared Salmon, Oven-roasted Chicken Breast, Norwegian Meatballs, Mushroom Stuffed Pasta, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, and Seared Herb dusted Beef Tips. Each with a Norwegian flair. Each table also receives the Royal Chef's Dessert Plate with Chocolate Mousse, Norwegian Rice Cream, and pastries served family style.
For an incredible dining and entertainment experience alone you should try eating at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, the fact that you can get all of this for one Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit makes it a must for those using the Disney Dining Plan.
Boma features African inspired cuisine to match the setting of the resort. As a guest you will be treated to a buffet that has a variety of tastes to sample that will be unlike any restaurant that you would typically encounter.
It starts with a selection of African Breads. Then there are a selection of salads and fruits to temp your palate. Boma is especially known for the soups that are available. There usually are several to choose from and they are wonderful. There are also a number of African vegetable dishes.
The entree items include: Durban Spiced Roasted Chicken, Malabu Pepper Steak, Wood Roasted meats, Bobotie (Lamb and beef quiche with onions, raisins, and bread), Chicken Pepper Pot, Curried Coconut Seafood Stew, Couscous Marrakesh & Grilled Seafood.
It is all topped off with a dessert bar that includes the world famous Zebra Domes and Simba Paw Prints that must be tried.
If you were paying out of pocket to eat here the Adult meal would cost $39.40 and Children would be $19.16. Again this makes a very good use of your Disney Dining Plan Table Service Credit.
Eating dinner at Boma makes for a wonderful evening that is an escape, even within Disney World. You are immersed within this beautiful African setting and can enjoy the surroundings of the resort and then partake in the exotic tastes of the buffet. There are food choices for even the picky eater, but this is really a chance to explore and experience new flavors. This is an absolute must for anyone that has never had the chance to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge and a reason to return for those that have visited.
Last, but certainly not least is dining at Restaurant Marrakesh. Hidden deep within the Morocco Pavillion in Epcot's World Showcase, Restaurant Marrakesh transports you to Morocco to experience its flavors and culture.
Eating here is much more than just a meal, it is truly an experience. You will not only get to sample authentic Moroccan cuisine, you will also be entertained. Each evening there is live music and a belly dancer performing at different intervals.
From the Official Restaurant Marrakesh Menu: you will find many interesting tastes to consider. The entree choices include: Couscous (the national Moroccan dish) with your choice of Beef, Chicken, Lamb, or vegetables; Shish kebab; Roast lamb Meshoui (traditional roasted lamb shank in natural juice with couscous), lemon Chicken, Chicken kebabs, North Atlantic Salmon, Mogador Fish Tangine (marinated fish with olives, lemon confit, potatoes, green peppers and chermula sauce), or Moroccan Sampler platters providing a taste of several different dishes.
These dishes normally cost from $24.95 to $36.95, plus with the Disney Dining Plan you will also receive your choice of non-alcoholic beverage and Dessert. This makes the normal Adult "meal" cost around $35 - $45 + tax. Again this is a great use for the Disney Dining Plan Table Service Dining Credit.
This underrated restaurant is a great Disney Dining Experience. You will enjoy the atmosphere and get a chance to sample authentic Moroccan cuisine in a beautiful setting while enjoying the Moroccan entertainment.
Use The Disney Dining Plan To Its Fullest
Take our advice and try these three fantastic Disney World Dining experiences when you are using the Disney Dining Plan. They can be very expensive when you are not on the Disney Dining Plan, so sometimes people tend to shy away and miss these great dining opportunities. Use the Disney Dining Plan to its fullest and don't miss out on these overlooked gems.
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort Evokes Victorian Era Nostalgia
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
The Grand Floridian Resort is the Flagship Hotel of the Walt Disney World Resort. This Victorian Style Hotel is stunning with its trademark 5 story Grand Lobby complete with two dazzling chandeliers. Among the many decorations and amenities to notice while visiting and exploring the Grand Lobby, are several interesting Victorian Era antiques on display.
Can you guess the purpose of the interesting item in the above picture? It is a Squirrel Cage from 1890. It is definitely a unique item and it really caught me off-guard to see it on display here.
The next item is a Weathervane from France from 1875. The interesting metalwork on the weathervane makes it a nice display piece.
Here we have a toy ferris wheel, again from around the late 1800's. These items are displayed on tables beneath beautiful paintings of scenes from the Victorian Era.
Lastly, we see an antique barber pole. The unique display stand really sets it off. All four of these items that we found on display in the Grand Lobby were unique and not what you would expect to see. I think it is their unique nature that makes them fit and provides a connection to the Victorian Era that the Grand Floridian was designed to emulate.
This picture shows the Grand Lobby floor complete with grand piano and giant replica bird cage.
There is even a portion of the balcony overlooking the lobby set up for a band to play. The above picture capture the band performing.
Visit Disney's Grand Floridian Resort
Even if you are not staying at the Grand Floridian Resort you should definitely visit it. You can tie your visit to a dining experience at one of its many restaurants: 1900 Park Fare, Narcoossee's, Citricos, Grand Floridian Cafe, or Victoria & Albert's. You can also just browse around the Grand Lobby and take in all of the sights. It is easy to get there, just take the Resort Monorail from the Magic Kingdom and get off at the Grand Floridian stop. When you are ready to leave take the Monorail back to the Magic Kingdom and you can get connected to anywhere in Disney World.
Disney World Dining - Narcoossee's
Narcoossee's - The Ambiance
Inside the restaurant you sense a casual elegance that gives you a coastal feel that befits the seafood featured menu that they offer. At night the lighting level is low, which makes it an ideal place to share a romantic dinner or celebrate a special event. Although you will see families here, many of the tables were occupied by couples enjoying a special dinner.
During our visit we caught one of the last showings of the Summer Nightastic! Fireworks and enjoyed the show almost as much from Narcoossee's as we did when saw it standing next to the Cinderella Castle a night earlier.
From the moment we entered Narcoossee's the service was wonderful. After checking in and receiving our pager, we sat in the waiting area with full view of the open kitchen. While we were waiting one of the managers noticed that we had our camera with us and offered to take a picture of my wife and I out on their deck area overlooking the Seven Seas Lagoon. He even took a couple pictures to make sure that we got one that we liked. He was very friendly and engaging, which got our dining experience off to a great start.
We happened to be celebrating my wife's birthday and had included it in our reservations. I never had to mention another word about it, and they took great care of us and made her birthday very special.
Our waitress was extremely friendly and did everything that you would want. She had our table ready for us with tiny Mickey Head sparkles dusted all over to mark our celebration. The menu my wife received was customized for her and made a nice sovenier of the evening.
The best way to describe the wonderful service was to tell about the manager that stopped by our table at the end of our meal to ask how it was. When we told him that this was our first time at Narcoossee's he immediately and sincerely thanked us for entrusting such an important celebration to his restaurant.
For a Signature Restaurant, at the Grand Floridian no less, there was no sense of the staff being pretentious. It made for an amazing dining experience.
The menu at Narcoossee's changes frequently, but remains with a heavy emphasis on seafood dishes. For the non-seafood eaters, there is always a Filet Mignon on the menu, as well as, a chicken dish and a vegetarian dish.
You can see a recent Narcoossee's Menu from Disney World, this will give you an example, but those particular dishes may not be available on the day you visit.
The entrees range in price from $22.00 for the Summer Vegetables - Vegetarian Dish to $59.00 for the Surf & Turf - with Filet Mignon and Lobster Tail. Most of the entrees are in the $33 - $39 range.
The seafood dishes that were available the night that we visited were:
- Turbot with Rock Shrimp $34.00
- Crispy Whole Snapper $35.00
- Mixed Grill - with Lamb T-Bone, Spiny Lobster, & Chicken Sausage $39.00
- Togarashi Spiced Ahi Tuna $36.00
- Grilled Shrimp $33.00
- Crab Crusted Flounder $35.00
Narcossee's - The Food
My wife decided to have the Crab-crusted Flounder (pictured below.) It came with crushed potatoes, hricots verts, and Meyer Lemon sauce. She loved the dish and thought that the Meyer Lemon sauce was amazing.
I ordered the Chef's Recommendation for the day which was the Turbot with Rock Shrimp. The Turbot was poached in a court bouillon with Fish Veloute, tomatoes, and parsely. It was also very good.
We both enjoyed our selections and the other dishes that we saw being served looked amazing as well.
For dessert, we decided to split the Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Dome with fresh berries (pictured below). This dessert was unbelievably good and is now my new Disney World favorite!
High Marks For Narcoossee's
Dinner at Narcoossee's may have been the best Dining Experience we have had at Disney World. There may have been a couple of meals that we have enjoyed elsewhere at Disney World, where the food itself was just as good or better, but the entire Narcoossee's experience gets the highest marks. The remarkable staff combined with the waterfront location with magnificent views of the Electrical Water Pageant and the Magic Kingdom Fireworks (Wishes), created an experience that is hard to beat and will certainly be remembered.
