A Magical 10 Night Trip, The 10th Month and The Orlando Trifecta- PTR - UPDATED 10/2 - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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So was I and glad I was finally able to do it. Just waiting for Disney to release the dates.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I have a good portion of my trip plans very well set now! I was quite happy with finally booking the ROL package as it was such a waiting game!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Monday, July 7th I was reading Cam’s TR as she and Luke had booked the ROL dining package at Tiffin’s. What made me interested was she said that the Wagyu Striploin was included on the menu for the package. As there isn’t a big difference between the price of the package for Tiffin’s and Tusker House, this sounds like a great deal! I decided that I would change my ROL package from Tusker House to Tiffin’s. I dined here last October and enjoyed it very much. It’s also more upscale than TH, more relaxed and much quitter and not a buffet.
I tried modifying my package on the WDW site, but it wouldn’t allow me to do it. I had to cancel my Tusker House package and then book one for Tiffin’s. There was availability for Tiffin’s and I booked my package for Tuesday, October 10th at 4:10 pm. This is a much better ADR time than at TH as closer to dinner time with the previous time at 12:55 pm. Glad all the packages weren’t scooped up!
Sunday, July 16th Made an ADR for Todd English’s BlueZoo for Monday, October 9th at 6:15 pm. This is one of my Food & Wine Festival days, so the plan is to hit the booths for some sampling for a few hours. Then I will go to BlueZoo for my dinner and have some apps or a light meal before going to Illuminations. I will probably have some down time before dinner as the restaurant is in my resort.
I had been thinking about doing a spa treatment at my hotel as they have the Mandara Spa in the Dolphin or the Swan. But, I’m being apprehensive about it, as my resort stays will be a bit longer than last year with three more days and I have booked some other special experiences as well and may be more to come. I will see what happens as my plans become more certain and besides I should be able to book one of these spa treatments a few days before or while I’m at the hotel.
Monday, July 17th I changed my mind once again with another ADR. I decided to cancel BlueZoo once again and go with something a bit closer in Epcot and Tokyo Dining. My ADR is now at 6:20 pm on Monday, October 9th. I just can’t make up my mind on a few of these ADRS. I’m sure this won’t be the last change I make to an ADR! The two have similar cuisine as they specialize in seafood and won’t be a heavy meal.
Thursday, July 20th Earlier in the week, Disney revealed their schedules for the 2017 Epcot Food & Wine Festival events including the various seminars, special events, dining experiences and others. I looked over the listings and see what interested me and which ones I could fit into my two planned days at the festival. I knew what I wanted and hoped I could secure these.
Also, a day or two before my booking window opened for the general public, Tara mentioned in her PTR that she got a reservation for the Italian Regional Lunch at Tutto Gusto. I looked this over and looks like something I’d be interested in doing. This was now first on my list, but had a backup with the Mediterranean Food and Wine Pairing at Spice Road Table. The only problem with a backup is you can’t just book your second choice with the hope of your primary choice opening as these events are non-refundable.
I was on the phone with Disney at 7 am sharp in the hopes of making the reservation for the Italian lunch as these special meals can’t be booked online. This year I can’t make a booking prior to the general public on sale day as Chase is no longer the sponsor of the festival. When I got through on the phone, it said there was a thirty minute wait, which wasn’t promising. It wound up being about twenty.
Once I got through to a CM, I asked about the availability of the Italian Regional Lunch for Monday, October 9th. She checked for a while and said there were no reservations available for this day! I couldn’t believe it, but she mentioned that it could have something to do with other guests of DVC and Annual Passholders having prior access to making these. She also said there were some system problems and may have something to do with it as well. I thought about my backup choice, but decided against it as I wanted the Italian lunch reservation very much and didn’t want to book my backup and if I could book the Italian lunch later, I didn’t want to lose my prepaid fee of $60 for the Mediterranean experience! She said I should try calling back later. That was the plan.
I called back an hour later with not much wait time on the phone and same result as nothing available still. The CM said to call back later once again as they were still having system problems as I’m guessing it may be because of this as I didn’t think this could be sold out this fast!
I called back later in the evening around 8:45pm and said there was a fifteen minute wait. The reservations line closes at 9 pm, so I was hoping I’d get through. I got through in ten minutes. I had a very good CM on the line and she was very detailed in trying to secure this reservation for me! It took some work by her and she got the Regional Italian Lunch reservation for me! I was quite happy and psyched for this experience and thanked her for it! I now had my reservation on Monday, October 9th from 12-2:30 pm. The cost comes to $104.46 including tax and probably a good deal considering how extensive the meal will be.
My original plan was to visit the Food & Wine Festival booths around opening, but now I’ll be going to this meal instead during this part of the day. I will probably go to Future World for a bit after this meal as I plan making my third FP+ for today after lunch and then return to the Dolphin for some downtime before returning later. Once, I’m hungry enough, I’ll return to Epcot around 6 pm and do a bit of sampling then. This will work fine as I planned being in World Showcase for Illuminations tonight. Glad I was finally able to book this experience and the problem earlier in the day may be because of so much phone traffic and that the general public bookings just opened.
The meal is five courses with wine. I know white truffles will be included on the menu in some part as I’ve never had these, but have had black truffles many times. Even better as it’s the harvest season for truffles in Italy. This will also be my first time to Tutto Gusto and I’m looking forward to dining here.
NEXT: How Could I Overlook This?
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'm so glad you were able to add in Tiffin's and BlueZoo, both places we loved on our last trip. And it definitely goes to show that you do need to keep trying, as you were finally able to secure that Italian lunch reservation - congrats!
Delicious choices, Dave!! You must let me know how the Tutto Gusto meal goes!! I was very sad to cancel it but so happy to be touring with Megan instead.
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Thanks. The Italian lunch sounds like a winner and looking forward to it in a few more weeks!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
I'm so glad you were able to add in Tiffin's and BlueZoo, both places we loved on our last trip. And it definitely goes to show that you do need to keep trying, as you were finally able to secure that Italian lunch reservation - congrats!
Well I added BlueZoo and cancelled it again as I decided to go for Tokyo Dining. This is crazy but there's been a lot of changes. Now with the Italian lunch you'll see more changes!
Looking forward to Tiffin's again as I enjoyed it so much last year. I'm glad I was finally able to get the Italian lunch and was getting a bit perturbed with this as it shouldn't be sold out this fast, considering the cost. Glad it worked out!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Congrats on all the dining choices and getting the Italian lunch at the festival!
Looking forward to the dining ADRs and especially the Italian lunch, which should be quite an experience!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Delicious choices, Dave!! You must let me know how the Tutto Gusto meal goes!! I was very sad to cancel it but so happy to be touring with Megan instead.
I'm very happy with these and am looking very enthusiastically for the Italian lunch. I remember you cancelled it about a week ago as I knew you wanted to do this so much! I think the trade off is quite good with Megan. There will definitely be a TR but I will need to finish the one from last year first. Not a lot of posts left as on my final full day.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Well I added BlueZoo and cancelled it again as I decided to go for Tokyo Dining. This is crazy but there's been a lot of changes. Now with the Italian lunch you'll see more changes!
Congrats on getting Tiffins and the Italian lunch at the F&WF! Your trip is shaping up so nicely!
I definitely scored with these two reservations! I'm especially looking forward to the Italian lunch as it will be something completely different. Everything seems to be becoming together well, but still more planning to do.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
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Just waiting for Disney to release the dates.
I decided that I would change my ROL package from Tusker House to Tiffin’s. I dined here last October and enjoyed it very much. It’s also more upscale than TH, more relaxed and much quitter and not a buffet.
I had to cancel my Tusker House package and then book one for Tiffin’s. There was availability for Tiffin’s and I booked my package for Tuesday, October 10th at 4:10 pm. 
This is a much better ADR time than at TH as closer to dinner time with the previous time at 12:55 pm. Glad all the packages weren’t scooped up! 
I decided to cancel BlueZoo once again and go with something a bit closer in Epcot and Tokyo Dining. My ADR is now at 6:20 pm on Monday, October 9th. I just can’t make up my mind on a few of these ADRS. 
The two have similar cuisine as they specialize in seafood and won’t be a heavy meal. 
I looked over the listings and see what interested me and which ones I could fit into my two planned days at the festival. I knew what I wanted and hoped I could secure these. 
I couldn’t believe it, but she mentioned that it could have something to do with other guests of DVC and Annual Passholders having prior access to making these. She also said there were some system problems and may have something to do with it as well. 
I thought about my backup choice, but decided against it as I wanted the Italian lunch reservation very much and didn’t want to book my backup and if I could book the Italian lunch later, I didn’t want to lose my prepaid fee of $60 for the Mediterranean experience! 
I now had my reservation on Monday, October 9th from 12-2:30 pm. The cost comes to $104.46 including tax and probably a good deal considering how extensive the meal will be. 
Once, I’m hungry enough, I’ll return to Epcot around 6 pm and do a bit of sampling then. 
This will work fine as I planned being in World Showcase for Illuminations tonight. 
I know white truffles will be included on the menu in some part as I’ve never had these, but have had black truffles many times. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Glad it worked out! 
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