1 day visit to Magic Kingdom! Food HELP!

[Genny123]

My family is taking our first trip to Magic Kingdom next month. My daughter is 3. I made a reservation for breakfast at Crystal Palace (thought it would be a good way for her to see the characters) and lunch at Be Our Guest since she loves Beauty & the Beast. Figured we would be exhausted and gone before dinner. Is that too much for one day? Should I pick one or the other? Neither? Thanks!

 

[ToInfinity]

I think those are great choices for a first trip! Crystal Palace is a buffet-style meal with Winnie the Pooh and friends, and Be Our Guest is actually considered a quick service meal at lunch. You will order at a kiosk and then somebody will bring food to the table you choose. If you are still in the park by dinner, there are several quick service locations that don’t require reservations that are delicious, such as Colombia Harbour House and Pinocchio Village Hause. Many people also enjoy Pecos Bills, but it isn’t one of my favorites.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Only going for one day I would try to maximize my park time.
Unless she loves Pooh and friends I would not bother with the Cyrstal Palace breakfast.
Do a classic Mickey meet n greet instead.
Keep BOG for lunch and be sure to preorder so you'd not wasting time standing in line to order at a kiosk.

 

[drizgirl]

I would do CP for breakfast as long as you can do it before park open so as to not take up park time. It's actually a great way to start the day. And you have to eat, so BOG for lunch is a great idea because it saves you time standing in line somewhere else (because it's an quick service location with reservations).

 

[Genny123]

I think those are great choices for a first trip! Crystal Palace is a buffet-style meal with Winnie the Pooh and friends, and Be Our Guest is actually considered a quick service meal at lunch. You will order at a kiosk and then somebody will bring food to the table you choose. If you are still in the park by dinner, there are several quick service locations that don’t require reservations that are delicious, such as Colombia Harbour House and Pinocchio Village Hause. Many people also enjoy Pecos Bills, but it isn’t one of my favorites.

I would do CP for breakfast as long as you can do it before park open so as to not take up park time. It's actually a great way to start the day. And you have to eat, so BOG for lunch is a great idea because it saves you time standing in line somewhere else (because it's an quick service location with reservations).

I have reservations for 8:55. I was planning to keep checking every day to see if an earlier spot opens up. Is 8:55 too late?

 

[Genny123]

Only going for one day I would try to maximize my park time.
Unless she loves Pooh and friends I would not bother with the Cyrstal Palace breakfast.
Do a classic Mickey meet n greet instead.
Keep BOG for lunch and be sure to preorder so you'd not wasting time standing in line to order at a kiosk.

Thanks! How do we do a Mickey meet & greet? Does it need to be reserved?

 

[drizgirl]

I have reservations for 8:55. I was planning to keep checking every day to see if an earlier spot opens up. Is 8:55 too late?

An earlier one would be better. Keep watching. Set up an alert on the TouringPlans.com reservation finder for an earlier time. You want to spend as little open park time eating as possible.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I have reservations for 8:55. I was planning to keep checking every day to see if an earlier spot opens up. Is 8:55 too late?

That's 5 minutes prior to official park opening and thats IF Disney doesn't extend hours.
Its too late if you'd like to enjoy breakfast prior to the park opening and be ready to go on attractions during the "golden hour" where lines don't get too long yet.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Thanks! How do we do a Mickey meet & greet? Does it need to be reserved?

You can wait in the standby line or you can get a fastpass.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I would recommend that you download the My Disney Experience app as well as explore the Disney World website to see what the park has to offer.
BTW Fastpass is free.

 

[Genny123]

An earlier one would be better. Keep watching. Set up an alert on the TouringPlans.com reservation finder for an earlier time. You want to spend as little open park time eating as possible.

I signed up for alerts. Thanks for the tip! Another thought. We wanted to see the opening ceremony, which I believe would be at 9/just before 9? Is there a grace period with dining reservations? Could we run to the opening ceremony and then come back to crystal palace by 9:05-9:10ish?

 

[drizgirl]

I signed up for alerts. Thanks for the tip! Another thought. We wanted to see the opening ceremony, which I believe would be at 9/just before 9? Is there a grace period with dining reservations? Could we run to the opening ceremony and then come back to crystal palace by 9:05-9:10ish?

Honestly, the open show isn't that great. I wouldn't risk being late for your ADR. Come back and watch the stage show that shows throughout the day instead.

 

[carriebeth]

Another option is to move your crystal palace breakfast to more of a brunch time. If you did it at 10:30 or so you can be there when the parks opens, take advantage of low crowd lines early and then give your daughter a little break with your breakfast reservation. It generally takes an hour and a half to do a sit down meal at Disney. Sometimes a little more sometimes a little less but I plan on the hour and a half when I plan. Put your fast passes in the time slot post breakfast.

For lunch at BOG there will be no characters at all or anything. The rooms are themed to the movie so she may or may not enjoy that. Everyone seats themselves wherever they can find and gets their own drinks etc so it can be a lot of hustle and bustle in there and for a young child it may be hard to enjoy the scenery and not just focus on what is all going on around with people etc. I enjoy the lunch food but wouldn’t recommend it purely for a young child to enjoy a beauty and the beast experience.

As far as dinner it depends on how you want to do your trip and how your child is. My 3 year olds were always fine with staying at a park all day long and preferred that if given a chance.

 

[Hula Baloo]

What time is your BOG reservation? I agree that you should try to move up the CP reservation before park hours if possible. If not, go during non-peak meal times such as 10:30, like @carriebeth suggested. Then move your lunch to another non-peak meal time such as 2:30-3. Then have a light dinner at a normal time or have a late dinner.

 

[oogie boogie man]

I wouldn't do breakfast in the park. This way you can get on the rides early.

Be Our Guest is a great choice for lunch though. It feels like a table service. Because you get good quality food on glass plates with silverware.

 

[JustAFan]

Keeping in mind your daughter is 3, I think breakfast at Crystal Palace is a great idea. As you said, it's a great way to meet characters. The food is great for people of all ages. Have fun!

 

[Dog Ate Mouse]

Keep in Mind that you have a 3 year old. She will be blown away with just the sites and sounds. She will be needing a nap by noon. Then throw in a character or two and over load is sure to happen. My advise to you is that your plans for meals are great and make sure you have full charges on devices that you will be taking pictures with. This is going to be an amazing time and the coolest and fun first time experience. Lastly, enjoy and hope it is the most magical day. Dreams do come true.