Foodie Trip Itenerary so far with DDP. Any Suggestions?

[benice]

My wife and I are taking our first trip together to Disney World in June. We are coming from the West Coast to visit family in Alabama and then we are driving to Disney from there. Currently, we are booked for 4 nights at Port Orleans French Quarter with the Deluxe Dining Plan. We are both big foodies and our plan is to do several of the 2 credit signature dining options and have a fun, relaxing week.

So far we have the following itinerary.
Monday
Breakfast 10 AM- Kona
Dinner 9:15- Boathouse

Tuesday
Breakfast 8:55- Boma
Dinner 9:50- Ohana

Wednesday
Breakfast or lunch - Any suggestions?
Dinner 9:15- California Grill

Thursday
Breakfast or lunch- Any suggestions
Dinner 6:50 Yachtman's Steakhouse





If anyone has any suggestions let me know. The plan is to drive in on Sunday night and check in Monday before breakfast and start the first day with Hollywood Studios since I heard it can be explored without using a full day. I figured this would give us time to rest and get ready to enjoy the rest of the parks the rest of the week.

As you all can see, we have about 3 sit down credits left.. I was thinking of doing a breakfast before we left, and maybe a lunch somewhere on Wednesday and Thursday (maybe if we did Epcot that day, we could add a lunch there and another breakfast on Thursday).

Also, I am open to any suggestions about any signature restaurants that maybe we should switch out with the ones we currently have booked. I was thinking about dropping one for Jiko or Morimoto.

 

[DisAl]

One thing you will discover with the Deluxe Dining Plan is that you just about can't eat that much. What my wife and I do on our anniversary trips is to do one single credit meal and one signature meal every day. That uses up your three meals per day. We found that we just could not enjoy three "full service" meals a day because you never actually get hungry! We would use one of the snack credits for something light for either breakfast or lunch depending on where the one credit meal was. For example, if we did Crystal Palace for breakfast, we might do Cinderella's Royal Table for dinner and a snack during the day.
There are a number of signature restaurants available. One that is often overlooked is Narcoossee's at Grand Floridian. That was one of the best meals we had. Brown Derby at HS has always been good too.
Have fun!

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

If you're taking a food vacation to WDW, you have to go to Victoria & Albert's. Yes, it's very expensive - but in my opinion, it's worth more than two or three visits to some of the other places you have listed.

Another thing I notice is that you have no restaurants inside any of the parks listed. This may be intentional. If it's not, consider adding the Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios and Skipper's Canteen at the Magic Kingdom. They're both very good.

Lastly, I ate at Ohana in January and was not impressed. I'd scratch it for any of the above.

 

[DisneyDaver]

Also, I am open to any suggestions about any signature restaurants that maybe we should switch out with the ones we currently have booked. I was thinking about dropping one for Jiko or Morimoto.

I highly recommend Jiko and would sub it in for one of your dinners. The menu is unique and my wife and I loved it. I have not been to Morimoto in Disney Springs, but I have been to Morimoto in Chicago (was just ok and the restaurant has since closed) and Morimoto in Maui (which was amazing!).

Also, check out the time for Happily Ever After the night you are going to California Grill and make sure you watch the show from their outdoor terrace. If it's before you dinner, then get there early for the show. If after you start dinner, I would take a break to watch.

 

[Hockey89]

If you're taking a food vacation to WDW, you have to go to Victoria & Albert's. Yes, it's very expensive - but in my opinion, it's worth more than two or three visits to some of the other places you have listed.

Another thing I notice is that you have no restaurants inside any of the parks listed. This may be intentional. If it's not, consider adding the Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios and Skipper's Canteen at the Magic Kingdom. They're both very good.

Lastly, I ate at Ohana in January and was not impressed. I'd scratch it for any of the above.

I agree about V&A.... It is the best place at Disney and it is by a wide margin....

 

[Schneewittchen]

Other places you could consider, not necessarily signature:

Skipper Canteen @ MK - great lunch option, fun service, really interesting food choices compared to the rest of MK
The Wave @ Contemporary - solid contemporary American cuisine
Narcoossee's @ GF - beautiful night time water views, lovely nice, great seafood options
Artist Point @ WL - yay charcuterie, wonderful steaks and seafood, quiet atmosphere

 

[benice]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I really appreciate it.

We are so excited to be heading to Disney World. We just added Jiko to our list in place of Yachtman's for now.. my wife is burned out on steak.

 

[benice]

I agree about V&A.... It is the best place at Disney and it is by a wide margin....

I really want to try V&A's. I hate that they aren't on the dining plan!

 

[imahistorygeek]

Thanks everyone for your responses! I really appreciate it.

We are so excited to be heading to Disney World. We just added Jiko to our list in place of Yachtman's for now.. my wife is burned out on steak.

If you like shrimp, Jiko has this amazing brick oven cooked shrimp. I tried it and one of the flatbreads and they were delicious. You can't go wrong with Jiko.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Tiffins (2 credits) was our favorite TS meal last trip and Sanaa (1 credit) if you can make it over to AKL has been consistently good and interesting in all of our visits.

 

[Bairstow]

Tiffins (2 credits) was our favorite TS meal last trip and Sanaa (1 credit) if you can make it over to AKL has been consistently good and interesting in all of our visits.

Yeah, Tiffins is pretty great.
Their grilled octopus appetizer may be the best thing I ate all trip.

If you don't eat a meal there, consider stopping by Nomad Lounge for some cocktails and tentacles.

 

[brifraz]

Putting in another plug for Victoria and Albert's. It really is amazing. If I have a top 10 list of bites of food in my life, I think that all of them came in one night at V&A (or close to it!).

Boathouse is our daughter's favorite place to eat in all of WDW - we are sorry that we skipped it on our last visit.

Also, in Animal Kingdom, Tiffins is excellent (and unique) and Yak and Yeti is better than you might expect!

 

[slappy magoo]

If you're taking a food vacation to WDW, you have to go to Victoria & Albert's. Yes, it's very expensive - but in my opinion, it's worth more than two or three visits to some of the other places you have listed.

I agree about V&A.... It is the best place at Disney and it is by a wide margin....

Putting in another plug for Victoria and Albert's. It really is amazing. If I have a top 10 list of bites of food in my life, I think that all of them came in one night at V&A (or close to it!).

V&A is no longer accepted on the dining plan, though, so for someone looking for recommendations on the Deluxe Dining Plan, that's like waving a teddy bear just out of the baby's reach.

I'd recommend California Grill over Ohana in a heartbeat.

The food at the Hoop-De-Doo isn't going to knock anyone's socks off but it's still a fun show, a fun night out, worth doing if you're not planning to use your four nights at WDW going park commando and it doesn't seem like you are.

The Wave has great food. The restaurant itself doesn't exactly scream "you're at Disney!" but the food is IMHO way above par. Ditto Turf Club at Saratoga Springs, though The Wave is better.

Artist Point @ Wilderness Lodge

Raglan Road at Disney Springs



Since you didn't mention kids I'm not assuming a character meal is a must-do, but I think one of the best ones is 1900 Park Fare at Grand Floridian. Try to get one of the last breakfast reservations, treat it like a brunch.

And for a lunch or dinner, maybe consider a World Showcase restaurant, a type of cuisine you both always wanted to try but never did. Marrakesh was my first experience with Moroccan food, I enjoyed it immensely. Biergarten, didn't enjoy the food as much, but it's a fun place to dine with German music and dancers.

 

[OneofThree]

If you are in fact the foodies you suggest, you might consider Flying Fish over Yachtsman. Although the steaks themselves are in fact excellent at YS IMO, the other offerings are not to the same culinary standard as Flying Fish in our experience. Also, you cannot miss Jiko, which may be the best experience on property right now this of the non-dining plan Swan and Dolphin restaurants.

 

[benice]

Thanks again everyone! You have all been so helpful. Definitely will consider Flying Fish. I'm torn on Ohana. I've heard some people like it and some people hate it.. may drop that one.

 

[slappy magoo]

Thanks again everyone! You have all been so helpful. Definitely will consider Flying Fish. I'm torn on Ohana. I've heard some people like it and some people hate it.. may drop that one.

Ohana is VERY hit or miss. I've had both delightful and awful experiences there for dinner.

 

[Marijil]

Jiko for Yachtsman is a no brainer...I would not drop ohana

 

[Marijil]

Believe it or not I would recommend Trattoria al Forno for breakfast

 

[Bairstow]

Thanks again everyone! You have all been so helpful. Definitely will consider Flying Fish. I'm torn on Ohana. I've heard some people like it and some people hate it.. may drop that one.

I've never had a bad meal there.
It's nothing fancy in terms of food- basically a Brazilian steakhouse with Chinese appetizers and tiki bar stuff on the drinks menu. Still, with the Polynesian theme it just works, and it's hard to have a bad time in such an upbeat place. The fact that I'm usually 2.5 rum drinks in probably has something to do with my love for it. A leisurely lunch there with drinks before and after is the ultimate way to ride out the busiest hours of a crowded Magic Kingdom day.

 

[benice]

I've never had a bad meal there.
It's nothing fancy in terms of food- basically a Brazilian steakhouse with Chinese appetizers and tiki bar stuff on the drinks menu. Still, with the Polynesian theme it just works, and it's hard to have a bad time in such an upbeat place. The fact that I'm usually 2.5 rum drinks in probably has something to do with my love for it. A leisurely lunch there with drinks before and after is the ultimate way to ride out the busiest hours of a crowded Magic Kingdom day.

Thanks. I really didn't want to cancel it.. I've heard it is a classic experience.