First Timers...Need Help With ADR's

[BrookieD34]

My family of 4 will be taking our very first WDW vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I'm having so much fun planning everything but...OMG does anyone else have this much trouble with ADR's?? Lol.

My kids are 8 & 4 so I want to fit in a couple of character meals. I think I'm decided on doing a Chef Mickey's breakfast but I'm having trouble choosing a princess meal. For those that have been to both...do you prefer Akershus or CRT? I was leaning toward CRT but I keep hearing it isn't worth the price.

Here are the others...I need help narrowing it down! We are staying 7 nights & I know we won't be able to fit all these in.

'Ohana's
San Angel Inn
Be Our Guest Dinner
Boma or Sanaa
Whispering Canyon Cafe or T-Rex

Trying to find places adults AND kids will enjoy. My DH is a huge meat eater...he will NOT eat breads or sweets because of his low carb diet. Are these good choices? Is it too much for a first trip? I appreciate all opinions & thoughts!

 

[CheshireCat12]

Although I have not done any character meals, I've heard the food is better at Akershus but the experience of being in the castle at CRT can be special for little ones. For your no-carb DH, I think Boma and Whispering Canyon would be great as well as 'Ohana because they all have lots of meat! Kids will like all of these too. This is not too much if you plan one TS per day on a 7-day trip. Pick one every day, and don't feel like you have to do dinner at each one. Lunch is cheaper! Have fun!

 

[belledream]

I haven't been to CRT in a long time, but even as a kid I wasn't impressed by the food. The atmosphere is obviously built into the price, but I think Be Our Guest would be a great substitute for that. IMO, the food at Akershus is better, and the princess interaction is more detailed (they have a princess procession in addition to pictures & characters coming around to the table).

 

[rt06]

My family of 4 will be taking our very first WDW vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I'm having so much fun planning everything but...OMG does anyone else have this much trouble with ADR's?? Lol.

My kids are 8 & 4 so I want to fit in a couple of character meals. I think I'm decided on doing a Chef Mickey's breakfast but I'm having trouble choosing a princess meal. For those that have been to both...do you prefer Akershus or CRT? I was leaning toward CRT but I keep hearing it isn't worth the price.

Here are the others...I need help narrowing it down! We are staying 7 nights & I know we won't be able to fit all these in.

'Ohana's
San Angel Inn
Be Our Guest Dinner
Boma or Sanaa
Whispering Canyon Cafe or T-Rex

Trying to find places adults AND kids will enjoy. My DH is a huge meat eater...he will NOT eat breads or sweets because of his low carb diet. Are these good choices? Is it too much for a first trip? I appreciate all opinions & thoughts!

Unless you've introduced your kids to ethnic foods, Boma may be too exotic, though they will serve something like spaghetti and meatballs just for that reason. Whispering is A+ for carnivores and kids alike. Unfortunate that your hubby will miss out on the mashed.

 

[Betsyboo]

I would go with Crystal Palace as a character meal. It's a buffet and if you can get it before the park opens it's a great way to see Main Street sans the crowd.

For me Sanaa is pretty exotic for kids unless they'll be happy with pizza and mac and cheese. Also, the big item there is the bread service and it sounds like your DH won't be partaking. Many items are also served with rice.

Ohana will be great for your DH and the kids will probably love it as well.

I'll throw in Biergarten in Epcot. They have tons of meat on the buffet and also veggies etc. The kids will love the atmosphere. It's our favorite.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[Lightning McQueen]

Chef Mickey is a great choice! Be prepared for excitement!! I would highly recommend San Angel, however, Mexican food may not be the best choice for young children. BoG is also good fun and good meat selections. Enjoy your first trip!

 

[tlev]

I have a 7 year old little girl. We have eaten at Akershus 4 times (lunch once, breakfast 3 times) and CRT 3 times (lunch once, dinner twice). We love both places. CRT is awesome because you get to eat in the castle! I mean what beats that if you love Cinderella and princesses? The food has always been good, yes it's overpriced, but you are eating in the castle after all and it includes a wishing star, wand, and photo with Cinderella. With that being said we love Akershus almost as much. The food is great and you get to see the same amount of princesses and get a photograph with Belle. You can't go wrong with either place in my opinion, but if I were you I would go with CRT since you have never been there.

If your DH loves meat, Ohana is the place for him! It's our favorite hands down. We also love T-Rex. We dined for the first time at Be Our Guest in March. I think this is now my daughter's favorite place. It's a must if you can get reservations.

I might be the minority here, but we did not care for San Angel Inn the last time we ate there. We tried La Hacinda San Angel for the first time in March and were able to get reservations during Illuminations. It was wonderful.

I hope you are able to get reservations for all of your choices!!!

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

My family of 4 will be taking our very first WDW vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I'm having so much fun planning everything but...OMG does anyone else have this much trouble with ADR's?? Lol.

My kids are 8 & 4 so I want to fit in a couple of character meals. I think I'm decided on doing a Chef Mickey's breakfast but I'm having trouble choosing a princess meal. For those that have been to both...do you prefer Akershus or CRT? I was leaning toward CRT but I keep hearing it isn't worth the price.
First of all , do you have a dining plan? I have eaten at every restaurant on property and some multiple times. Definitely go with Chef Mickey's. As far as CRT, it is not worth using 2 sit downs and if you must do it, pay for it out of pocket. I would go with a breakfast at Akershus personally. My daughter was made Princess of the day when we took her for her birthday one year. She was the first little girl there in the morning so she was given that title so it made her birthday just a little extra special. Also deep in mind that lunch and dinner at Akershus adds a Norwegian influence to the food offerings.

Here are the others...I need help narrowing it down! We are staying 7 nights & I know we won't be able to fit all these in.

'Ohana's- definitely try to get this.
San Angel Inn - I was not impressed with this the last time we were there. They had a menu change and it was not that good.
Be Our Guest Dinner- If you want to try to get this, try to get it for the end of your trip. You will have more luck that way for dinner.
Boma or Sanaa - both are good. I prefer Boma for breakfast over dinner though.
Whispering Canyon Cafe or T-Rex- Whispering Canyon is a lot of fun for the kids and T-Rex has a very cool atmosphere. Totally different food offerings though. this would depend on where you are going to be in order to book one of these. If you have no plans to go to Downtown disney, then skip T-Rex. If you are spending the day at the Magic Kingdom, you can always take the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner.

Trying to find places adults AND kids will enjoy. My DH is a huge meat eater...he will NOT eat breads or sweets because of his low carb diet. Are these good choices? for a meat eater, definitely try to get Ohana then. Is it too much for a first trip? I appreciate all opinions & thoughts!

Again, I would look at where you are going to be on that day to see which of the restaurants on your list is near there so you are not wasting time traveling from park to park or from one park to a hotel that is close to another park. You can really waste a lot of time doing that.

I will also suggest 50's Prime time in the Studios, Rainforest Cafe at AK, and Cape May Cafe at the Beach club for breakfast or dinner.

good luck and happy planning!

Pam

 

[olinecoach61]

You can't beat dining in the castle, I would def do that especially if they have never eaten there

 

[Disneydreamer23]

Arkuses definitely and I would recommend tusker house for a character meal

 

[twebber55]

My family of 4 will be taking our very first WDW vacation the week after Thanksgiving. I'm having so much fun planning everything but...OMG does anyone else have this much trouble with ADR's?? Lol.

My kids are 8 & 4 so I want to fit in a couple of character meals. I think I'm decided on doing a Chef Mickey's breakfast but I'm having trouble choosing a princess meal. For those that have been to both...do you prefer Akershus or CRT? I was leaning toward CRT but I keep hearing it isn't worth the price.

Here are the others...I need help narrowing it down! We are staying 7 nights & I know we won't be able to fit all these in.

'Ohana's
San Angel Inn
Be Our Guest Dinner
Boma or Sanaa
Whispering Canyon Cafe or T-Rex

Trying to find places adults AND kids will enjoy. My DH is a huge meat eater...he will NOT eat breads or sweets because of his low carb diet. Are these good choices? Is it too much for a first trip? I appreciate all opinions & thoughts!

ohanas are favorite and we also trying san angel and BOG this june
really like WCC

 

[harveyt0206]

Another vote for O'hana here. Your carnivore loving hubby will be happy (MEAT SKEWERS!!!!!!) and they have fun little games for the kids during dinner. One night when we went they did a game where the kids pushed a coconut with a small broom, the goal was to keep it in your lane and cross the finish line first. The kids dining with us that night seemed to love it. Whispering Canyon also has some interactive elements that your kids would probably enjoy. You might also consider Hoop DeeDoo Revue at Fort Wilderness. The show is a lot of fun and you can let the kids visit the horse barn after dinner, which is great if you are an animal lover.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Another hat in the ring from me for Crystal Palace Breakfast. We have always found it to be a good character meal that adults can enjoy.

Garden Grille is good too because you see the characters multiple times while you dine. The last time we were there my wife and daughter were in the bathroom and Mickey sat down at our table and colored on my daughters placemat for a while...it was pretty funny. The menu is so-so though since they changed to the "here it is, hope you like it" menu. The whole dining on a carousel tends to fascinate some kids too.

 

[jpittore1]

Garden Grill is unlimited meat, they will continue bringing back flank steak...I thought they were going to cut off my growing 14 year old son, but they kept bringing him plates of meat. We enjoy Garden Grill, I eat the turkey or fish.

They have filet and eggs at CRT at breakfast...it satisfied my husband and son as my daughter took in all the princesses. Check the menu to make sure it is still on the menu.

 

[BrookieD34]

I think this has only proved what I said in the beginning...it's very hard to choose!!! Lol! I'm definite on 'Ohana's & Be Our Guest. I'm leaning more towards CRT at the moment due to the feedback. I feel good about Whispering Canyon too...hope it fits into our schedule. I was certain about San Angel until the feedback. Lol. I was going to do it as the candlelight processional dinner package...now I'm wondering if I shouldn't go in a different direction? My kids aren't huge fans of Winnie the Pooh so I thought I might save Crystal Palace for a return trip. Thanks for all the great suggestions & help!

 

[s&k'smom]

Chef Mickey's is very exciting you have the monorail going buy and you have the Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy so that's a big plus. Boma for food alone is awesome and they do have a kid's section so my non eater was able to get one of the only things he'll eat (long story!). As for princess' as nice as the castle is food is way better at Askerhus. I'm glad we got to eat at the castle it was just me and my princess and I'm really happy we did it but if I'm taking the whole family Askerhus!

 

[armyfamilyof5]

We don't like the food at Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace but we also don't eat at Shoney's or Golden Corral so take my opinion with a that in mind. Love 'Ohana and CRT, the food is good, 1900 Park Fare has several fine buffets, the children love the Mad Hatter at breakfast and the food is better. At the prices they charge for the meals I insist we get food worth eating, nothing is more disappointing then having to buy snacks immediately after a meal.

 

[lighteningqueen]

Tusker is by far a great breakfast. Mickey and his gang are there and the food is great.. Love going into the park first thing before the public
Crystal Palace for Pooh and his gang. Chef Mickeys is so so for breakfast 1800 park faire is good for breakfast it has Alice Mad Hatter Mary Poppins Tiger


Teppon Edo for meat and it is the best meal and meat,we have ever had eat there twice a trip
San Angel is horrible waste of money for sure
Whispering canyon has the skillet full of meat good and great atmosphere
Yak and Yeti AK has a great steak and shrimp dinner that is really good

 

[shmmrname]

Seven days is a fairly decent chunk of time. It all depends on how important dining is to your idea of vacation. To me you really aren't at that point of biting off too much yet. (We tend to plan 1 sit-down meal a day.)

Here's my opinion on your list:
San Angel Inn ---> The setting is unique, the food is hit-or-miss and fairly 'safe'. I like it, but don't go into it expecting great food, you likely have a better mexican place where you live that's half the price. It's more about the setting/lighting.
Be Our Guest ---> You can't go wrong. It's delicious, it's new, it's pretty. I loved it, my wife loved it. Overall, it's just really impressive.
Boma / Sanaa ---> Boma would be great for the anti-carb fan. The carving station is a perfect scenario. Sanaa could be my favorite WDW restaurant now. You'll miss out on the bread service. I tried it in November, and everything our group ordered was great. If you like spicy food, this is as close to spicy as it gets in WDW. AKL is just awesome with food. You really can't go wrong.
Whispering Canyon Cafe ---> Great for a family, your kids will love it.
(Sorry, I have no to T-Rex. Bleh.)

If you're worried about time, remember that Epcot has so many counter-service options that can stand on their own. Sommerfest / Tangerine Cafe are always great fall-backs. Remember that DTD and the resorts tend to have great, great options... so keep them in mind for ADRs (especially if you have your own transportation).

 

[mammaminnie]

Definitely agree with those that suggest planning based on your park schedule. We prefer Akershus and 1900 PF for princess meals because I feel like he interaction with the characters is so much better. I can't recommend Whispering Canyon enough- look out if someone asks for ketchup!!!! I've heard pretty good things about San Angel,...we skip it every trip, but then again we live in Texas so it's hard to please me with Mexican outside of Texas I also recommend Boma or Sanaa. The bonus to Boma is the buffet provides lots of options to please even pickier eaters.