Booking Dinners for Our Trip to WDW in August, Need Some Advice

[The_Frizz0516]

Howdy, fellow Disney Nerds! My family of my Father, Mother, and I are going back for what I believe is my 14th visit in late August and can start booking our dinners on Wednesday. Since we're Disney World Pros, we know that if you don't try to book your meals ASAP you're probably not going to get into the busiest restaurants without a reservation. Here's some things to factor in when giving us some advice: 1) we don't care about extra magic hours, my parents are gonna be 58 and 56 when we go so they're usually ready to just go back to the hotel and chill by the pool around 9 anyways. 2) I'll be 17 when we go so I've kinda outgrown some of the "younger" characters and attractions. Feels weird saying that...

Here's what we think we'll go with:
Mon 8/14/17 Animal Kingdom- Rainforest Café (Tradition to eat here first)
Tue 8/15/17 Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest (My favorite movie and restaurant!)
Wed 8/16/17 Epcot- Garden Grill (Always been one of our favorites, we go every time)
Thu 8/17/17- Hollywood Studios- Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic Package and characters! Right?)
Fri 8/18/17- Typhoon Lagoon- T-Rex at Disney Springs (Haven't been there since I was 10!)
Sat 8/19/17- Magic Kingdom- 1900 Park Fare (How crowded will MK be on a Saturday?)
Sun 8/20/17 Epcot- Chefs De France (Can put years of French Classes to Work!)
Mon 8/21/17 Hollywood Studios- Mama Melrose (Another Fantasmic Package that we love!)
Tue 8/22/17 Blizzard Beach- Captain’s Grille (We love this place!)
Wed 8/23/17 Epcot- Canada (Poutine, gosh we all love the poutine!)
Thu 8/24/17 Breakfast Only- Ohana’s (Tradition to have our last breakfast here)

Anyone who has any tips or has been to any of these restaurants, please don't be afraid to share! I haven't been to Disney Springs aka Downtown Disney since I was 10, and the water parks... I think I was 13 last time we did those... I hope the parks aren't too crowded on the days we're going, the only one I'm worried about is Sat the 19th. Thanks a bunch for reading this long thread!

 

[DisneyJoe]

my parents are gonna be 58 and 56 when we go so they're usually ready to just go back to the hotel and chill by the pool around 9 anyways

Never assume! I would be sure this is what your parents think - as someone a few years shy of that age, we still are in the parks until we see the nightly shows and sometimes later.

 

[LAKid53]

I tried the "I've had several years of French in both high school and college" when I arrived at the front once. The gentleman just gave me this blank stare - I guess he wasn't used to Americans speaking in French beyond "Bonjour". Unless my accent is not what it used to be. You know how picky the French are about pronunciation. To quote that line from My Fair Lady, "The French don't care what you say so much as long as you pronounce it correctly".

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Jeanne. Comment allez-vouz?" I did use the formal, not the familiar....

 

[LAKid53]

As someone who is several years older than both your parents, I agree with @DisneyJoe. I can out last both my late 20s daughter and early 30s son in law. I'm up before them in the morning and I am not always ready to leave in the evening when they are. I wasn't the one complaining about wanting to return to our resort at 2am during the last 24 hour party. Nor was I the one complaining about getting up in time to get to the parks around 9:30 in the morning with "but I'm on vacaaaaation - I don't want to get up before noon. "

Other than H&V, all your selections look good. We always chose Rainforest in AKL over the one in DS because it's less crowded.

 

[chrisbarry]

Magic Kingdom could be busy on a Saturday in summer. Get there before opening. Spend the relatively quieter morning hours in the park. Book the last breakfast you can at 1900 Park, 11:30-ish. The place should be pretty empty at that time because they don't do lunch and people think breakfast must be earlier, and you'll get mucho character time. This has worked for us several times. You get a midday heat and crowd break, quiet restaurant, and more character time than you could ever get earlier or later at dinner for that matter.

 

[carriebeth]

Saturday will be Magic Kingdoms busiest day. And during a busy time I would truly consider doing Magic Kingdom another day. Its also easier to get reservations for Be Our Guest the further out in your trip you are booking. So it might be hard to get one for the second day of your trip. MIght be easier if you moved that twords the end of the trip.

Also, doing 2 Fantasmic packages...are you watching Fantasmic twice? The newer Star Wars fireworks show is pretty neat and you can't really do both in one night (or at least couldn't last year due to times overlapping) so maybe one night do those instead? If you don't need both restaurants for packages I would suggest switching to 50's Prime Time. We really enjoyed our meal there last year. Everything was really delicious including milkshakes! Its a fun atmosphere too.

 

[AndrewsJ]

Lost me at "fellow Disney nerds".

 

[richg35]

More details below, but my main overall impression is that you have a lot of places that appeal to a younger demo (Garden Grill, Hollywood and Vine, etc.) but above you said that you felt like you were outgrowing younger characters and attractions. I'm almost 40, and I'll do character stuff with our without my kids, so I'm not judging at all. It just seems like you chose a bunch of things that someone who thought maybe the character stuff wasn't for them anymore wouldn't have picked.

For our trip this year we "forced" ourselves to make reservations for some new places. I feel like we get into the routine of what we and what the kids like and do them year after year. There are so many solid places to eat that we decided this year to try some new stuff. As you are transitioning from kid to adult, you might want to consider breaking with tradition and trying out some new places!

In any case, here are my thoughts - at the end of the day, it's your trip and you know what you and your parents like and are the best arbiter.

Mon 8/14/17 Animal Kingdom- Rainforest Café (Tradition to eat here first)
I don't want to mess w/ tradition, but there are some places to eat at AK that are better than Rainforest. Tiffins, Yak and Yeti, and Pandora will be open for your trip as well and probably be offering some new dining options. You also don't indicate lunch or dinner, but maybe you want to eat at Rainforest for Lunch and then book a Rivers of Light dining package for Tiffins or Tusker House to get priority seating for Rivers of Light, which will be new for your trip this year.


Tue 8/15/17 Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest (My favorite movie and restaurant!)
We like it here. Have only been for lunch but a lot of people like dinner here better.

Wed 8/16/17 Epcot- Garden Grill (Always been one of our favorites, we go every time)
We love this place. Best character interactions here, IMO.

Thu 8/17/17- Hollywood Studios- Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic Package and characters! Right?)
You had mentioned feeling too old for characters and stuff, so I'm a bit surprised that you would pick a buffet meal with Disney Junior characters. Personally I feel "never too old for characters," but it just seems a bit contrary to your other statement. Have you tried Hollywood Brown Derby? It's excellent.

Fri 8/18/17- Typhoon Lagoon- T-Rex at Disney Springs (Haven't been there since I was 10!)
There are loads of new and great experiences at Disney Springs - Boathouse and others. If you're eating at Rainforest Cafe already, it seems a little bit duplicative to go to T-Rex. Just my opinion though.

Sat 8/19/17- Magic Kingdom- 1900 Park Fare (How crowded will MK be on a Saturday?)
You don't indicate what meal you're planning on doing here, but I typically don't love leaving the parks to eat and then returning to a park. This is another character experience. If you want to be inside MK before rope drop then I'm figuring breakfast would not be the meal of choice.

Sun 8/20/17 Epcot- Chefs De France (Can put years of French Classes to Work!)
Pretty solid.

Mon 8/21/17 Hollywood Studios- Mama Melrose (Another Fantasmic Package that we love!)
We are going here this year for the first time.

Tue 8/22/17 Blizzard Beach- Captain’s Grille (We love this place!)
Haven't been.

Wed 8/23/17 Epcot- Canada (Poutine, gosh we all love the poutine!)
Haven't been here.

Thu 8/24/17 Breakfast Only- Ohana’s (Tradition to have our last breakfast here)
We are trying this place for the first time this year and looking forward to it (dinner, however).

 

[larandtra]

Howdy, fellow Disney Nerds! My family of my Father, Mother, and I are going back for what I believe is my 14th visit in late August and can start booking our dinners on Wednesday. Since we're Disney World Pros, we know that if you don't try to book your meals ASAP you're probably not going to get into the busiest restaurants without a reservation. Here's some things to factor in when giving us some advice: 1) we don't care about extra magic hours, my parents are gonna be 58 and 56 when we go so they're usually ready to just go back to the hotel and chill by the pool around 9 anyways. 2) I'll be 17 when we go so I've kinda outgrown some of the "younger" characters and attractions. Feels weird saying that...

Here's what we think we'll go with:
Mon 8/14/17 Animal Kingdom- Rainforest Café (Tradition to eat here first)
Tue 8/15/17 Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest (My favorite movie and restaurant!)
Wed 8/16/17 Epcot- Garden Grill (Always been one of our favorites, we go every time)
Thu 8/17/17- Hollywood Studios- Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic Package and characters! Right?)
Fri 8/18/17- Typhoon Lagoon- T-Rex at Disney Springs (Haven't been there since I was 10!)
Sat 8/19/17- Magic Kingdom- 1900 Park Fare (How crowded will MK be on a Saturday?)
Sun 8/20/17 Epcot- Chefs De France (Can put years of French Classes to Work!)
Mon 8/21/17 Hollywood Studios- Mama Melrose (Another Fantasmic Package that we love!)
Tue 8/22/17 Blizzard Beach- Captain’s Grille (We love this place!)
Wed 8/23/17 Epcot- Canada (Poutine, gosh we all love the poutine!)
Thu 8/24/17 Breakfast Only- Ohana’s (Tradition to have our last breakfast here)

Anyone who has any tips or has been to any of these restaurants, please don't be afraid to share! I haven't been to Disney Springs aka Downtown Disney since I was 10, and the water parks... I think I was 13 last time we did those... I hope the parks aren't too crowded on the days we're going, the only one I'm worried about is Sat the 19th. Thanks a bunch for reading this long thread!

Are you willing to go out of the way sometimes or try something completely new? Im also taking into account age and atmosphere of the restaurants. Keeping it Near or at parks you are in:
AK: Either grab an outside table for Flame Tree or go to AKL for Boma. But since it is tradition for you, if you go to rainforest. The one at AK isnt as spotty as the one at the Springs. But then see my note on TRex below.
MK: Skipper Canteen is an option.
Epcot: Be daring and try a place like La Hacienda, Spice Road, or Via Napoli or even Beirrgarten. The Latter two have a great atmosphere.
Studio: Try HBD. I tend to avoid eating at Studios unless its HBD and Ive eaten at all of them. Sci Fi wasnt bad last time and has seemed to get better. Mama Melroses isnt even close to Via Napoli at Epcot for the quality of food. Or the reality of italian food. And I think the atmosphere at Via is much better.
Disney Springs: Please try something other than TRex. With RF Cafe you are basically doing the same restaurant twice. Try Splitsville. Its fun and the food is excellent. Or if more daring with tastes, try Raglan or Homecoming
Blizzard Beach day: Try Beaches and Cream. Fun, burgers, and the kitchen sink.

 

[BraveGirl]

My mom is 69 and she literally RAN with me across Epcot (from Norway to The Land) so we could make it to the last ride of Soarin' at 9pm Don't count your parents out!

 

[The_Frizz0516]

Never assume! I would be sure this is what your parents think - as someone a few years shy of that age, we still are in the parks until we see the nightly shows and sometimes later.

I speak from experience, my mom always says after dinner (which is never later than 7:30 for us) "I'm tired, I'm gonna head back to the room, maybe hit the pool! You and dad can stay late if you want!" She's definitely not a night owl. My dad can carry on a bit later, but he's usually ready to head back before 10. I actually had to drive back to the room on late nights because he was too tired haha

 

[The_Frizz0516]

As someone who is several years older than both your parents, I agree with @DisneyJoe. I can out last both my late 20s daughter and early 30s son in law. I'm up before them in the morning and I am not always ready to leave in the evening when they are. I wasn't the one complaining about wanting to return to our resort at 2am during the last 24 hour party. Nor was I the one complaining about getting up in time to get to the parks around 9:30 in the morning with "but I'm on vacaaaaation - I don't want to get up before noon. "

Other than H&V, all your selections look good. We always chose Rainforest in AKL over the one in DS because it's less crowded.

Like I've said before, my parents have never been night owls. I'm serious when I say my mom wants to go back to the hotel after dinner and my dad is almost never willing to stay out at the park or the pool after 10

 

[The_Frizz0516]

Magic Kingdom could be busy on a Saturday in summer. Get there before opening. Spend the relatively quieter morning hours in the park. Book the last breakfast you can at 1900 Park, 11:30-ish. The place should be pretty empty at that time because they don't do lunch and people think breakfast must be earlier, and you'll get mucho character time. This has worked for us several times. You get a midday heat and crowd break, quiet restaurant, and more character time than you could ever get earlier or later at dinner for that matter.

We don't do character breakfasts or lunches :/ we never have. We usually do dinner at 1900 for Prince Charming and the hysterical sisters, which I believe are only at dinner. If they were at breakfast or brunch, believe me I'd be all for it!

 

[The_Frizz0516]

Saturday will be Magic Kingdoms busiest day. And during a busy time I would truly consider doing Magic Kingdom another day. Its also easier to get reservations for Be Our Guest the further out in your trip you are booking. So it might be hard to get one for the second day of your trip. MIght be easier if you moved that twords the end of the trip.

Also, doing 2 Fantasmic packages...are you watching Fantasmic twice? The newer Star Wars fireworks show is pretty neat and you can't really do both in one night (or at least couldn't last year due to times overlapping) so maybe one night do those instead? If you don't need both restaurants for packages I would suggest switching to 50's Prime Time. We really enjoyed our meal there last year. Everything was really delicious including milkshakes! Its a fun atmosphere too.

Fantasmic is my favorite show :/ my god-brother and I usually do fantasmic while my parents do Star Wars... I've seen it and loved it, but Fantasmic will always be my first choice

 

[The_Frizz0516]

More details below, but my main overall impression is that you have a lot of places that appeal to a younger demo (Garden Grill, Hollywood and Vine, etc.) but above you said that you felt like you were outgrowing younger characters and attractions. I'm almost 40, and I'll do character stuff with our without my kids, so I'm not judging at all. It just seems like you chose a bunch of things that someone who thought maybe the character stuff wasn't for them anymore wouldn't have picked.

For our trip this year we "forced" ourselves to make reservations for some new places. I feel like we get into the routine of what we and what the kids like and do them year after year. There are so many solid places to eat that we decided this year to try some new stuff. As you are transitioning from kid to adult, you might want to consider breaking with tradition and trying out some new places!

In any case, here are my thoughts - at the end of the day, it's your trip and you know what you and your parents like and are the best arbiter.

Mon 8/14/17 Animal Kingdom- Rainforest Café (Tradition to eat here first)
I don't want to mess w/ tradition, but there are some places to eat at AK that are better than Rainforest. Tiffins, Yak and Yeti, and Pandora will be open for your trip as well and probably be offering some new dining options. You also don't indicate lunch or dinner, but maybe you want to eat at Rainforest for Lunch and then book a Rivers of Light dining package for Tiffins or Tusker House to get priority seating for Rivers of Light, which will be new for your trip this year.


Tue 8/15/17 Magic Kingdom- Be Our Guest (My favorite movie and restaurant!)
We like it here. Have only been for lunch but a lot of people like dinner here better.

Wed 8/16/17 Epcot- Garden Grill (Always been one of our favorites, we go every time)
We love this place. Best character interactions here, IMO.

Thu 8/17/17- Hollywood Studios- Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic Package and characters! Right?)
You had mentioned feeling too old for characters and stuff, so I'm a bit surprised that you would pick a buffet meal with Disney Junior characters. Personally I feel "never too old for characters," but it just seems a bit contrary to your other statement. Have you tried Hollywood Brown Derby? It's excellent.

Fri 8/18/17- Typhoon Lagoon- T-Rex at Disney Springs (Haven't been there since I was 10!)
There are loads of new and great experiences at Disney Springs - Boathouse and others. If you're eating at Rainforest Cafe already, it seems a little bit duplicative to go to T-Rex. Just my opinion though.

Sat 8/19/17- Magic Kingdom- 1900 Park Fare (How crowded will MK be on a Saturday?)
You don't indicate what meal you're planning on doing here, but I typically don't love leaving the parks to eat and then returning to a park. This is another character experience. If you want to be inside MK before rope drop then I'm figuring breakfast would not be the meal of choice.

Sun 8/20/17 Epcot- Chefs De France (Can put years of French Classes to Work!)
Pretty solid.

Mon 8/21/17 Hollywood Studios- Mama Melrose (Another Fantasmic Package that we love!)
We are going here this year for the first time.

Tue 8/22/17 Blizzard Beach- Captain’s Grille (We love this place!)
Haven't been.

Wed 8/23/17 Epcot- Canada (Poutine, gosh we all love the poutine!)
Haven't been here.

Thu 8/24/17 Breakfast Only- Ohana’s (Tradition to have our last breakfast here)
We are trying this place for the first time this year and looking forward to it (dinner, however).

Okay I checked, DINNER with the Fantasmic Package at Hollywood and Vine has Minnie and other characters like her, Goofy, Daisy, so forth. LUNCH is Disney Jr which we're 100% not booking haha. It's confusing to have two different sets of characters at different meals but it works out I suppose

 

[The_Frizz0516]

My mom is 69 and she literally RAN with me across Epcot (from Norway to The Land) so we could make it to the last ride of Soarin' at 9pm Don't count your parents out!

Considering my mom was panting "Andie... Slow down... I'm too old and tired for this" after racing from Mexico to Norway, which are right next door, believe me, I know my parents. My family has never lasted past 10 at a park and it's getting to the point where I have to drive back to the room after a long day