Is this a good meal plan?

T

The Adventurer

New Member
Original Poster
In October of 2007, me and my aunt are going to Walt Disney World. We are staying nine nights and ten days. Eight of those days will be spent at the parks (two days for each). The ninth day is a full day at Downtown Disney and the tenth is our final departure. As far as Disney World attractions are concerned, I am an expert, but in the four trips that I have visited the world, I have only been to a handful of restaurants (mainly character meals). My aunt, has never been to Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, or Disney's Animal Kingdom, and the last time she was at Magic Kingdom, it was 1994. This trip is an all-out, spare no expense vacation and I want our meal itenerary to be no exception. Here are the restaurants we are visiting and some questions I have.

First Day at Magic Kingdom

(Breakfast at Resort)
Columbia Harbour House - lunch
The Crystal Palace - dinner

Second Day at Magic Kingdom

Cinderella's Royal Table - breakfast
Pecos Bill Cafe - lunch
Liberty Tree Tavern - dinner

First Day at Epcot

(Breakfast at Resort)

Coral Reef Restaurant or Garden Grill - lunch (I need help deciding which to choose)

Second Day at Epcot

Before arriving at the park we are eating at Chef Mickey's for breakfast

Yakitori House - lunch (Is this the best quick-service eatery in World Showcase, or should I forget World Showcase for a quick-service lunch and eat in Future World instead?)

Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room - dinner (Is this the best World Showcase Table-Service selection?)

First Day at Disney-MGM Studios

We will eat breakfast at the resort.

50s Prime Time Cafe - lunch
Sunset Ranch Market - dinner (Is this a good choice for a Disney-MGM Studios quick-service meal?)

Second Day at Disney-MGM Studios

Breakfast- Resort
Lunch- Backlot Express (Is this a good choice?)
Dinner- Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

First Day at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Breakfast - Restaurantosaurus
Lunch - Tusker House Restaurant
Dinner- Boma-Flavors of Africa

Second Day at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Breakfast - Resort
Lunch - Flame Tree Barbeque (How bad would the October heat be for lunchtime here?)
Dinner - Either the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, Mickey's Backyard Barbeque, or Disney's Spirit of Aloha Luau, or the nightly clambake at Cape May Cafe??? I can't decide.

A Day at Downtown Disney

For breakfast I want to eat at a character breakfast before hitting the Downtown area. Should I go to 1900 Park Fare or Cape May Cafe?

Lunch- Rainforest Cafe

Dinner- I am leaning towards Whispering Canyon Cafe, but is there any other Resort eatery that would be a better choice, or should we do a second dinner show?

The tenth day is our departure, but I plan on taking her to the 'Ohana Best Friends Breakfast... is this a good idea?

Sorry you had to read this novel of a post, but I really need some help. I want this to be the ultimate Disney vacation for both of us. I know it seems we can't get enough food, but most likely we won't be coming back. Like I said, I am an expert on attractions (Actually on our last three trips my family did everything we wanted without breaking a sweat), but when it comes to meals I am only a novice. Thanks.

P.S. I know some days seem like too much, but I plan to eat very early at breakfast time, eat lunch around 1:00 or 2:00, and have our dinners in the 7:00 - 9:00 range. We'll be plenty hungry at those times. We may be skinny, but me and my aunt love food.:king:
 
JimboJones123

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
If you haven't thought about DDP -- DO! you have too many ADRS not to -- and if you haven't made the reservations yet -- DO SO FAST! You may not get into Hoop of Spirit.

edit -- oops 2007 count 180 days from your check in day!
 
shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
The day at DTD I wouldn't eat at RF, the food and service are awful, try one of the other restaurants on the Westside, Bongo's, Wolfgang Puck's.

Coral Reef at Epcot is a hit or miss restaurant with food & service. I would either go with Le Cellier or Chef de France, they are the two restaurants that seem to get the highest praise here.

At MGM Sci-Fi is okay, but the food at Brown Derby is much better.

In October, it won't be too hot and there won't be too much humidity, so you should be okay to eat outside.

I also wouldn't plan on eating lunch in Epcot both days at a counter service place, since you will be there during the food and wine festival where they have booths set up all around world showcase with small portions of food for tasting (priced between $1-$4 each) it might just be fun to eat around the world.

You also might want to plan on attending a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in MK one night, that might be lots of fun, you do get to trick or treat in the park and there are special events going on, as well as special parade and fireworks.

Since you are eating breakfast every morning, don't count on wanting to eat a big lunch and dinner too. Also, because it is October, the parks won't be as busy during the week like the summer months and holiday time, so you don't have to get there the minute they open the doors, it's okay to sleep in once in a while if you're having a late night.
 
HauntedPirate

HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
If you get the Dining Plan, you can do every restaurant you have listed.

My suggestions: Save Chef Mickey's for Dinner, and instead do the Cape May Cafe for breakfast on your second day at Epcot. Not sure what other breakfast to suggest for your last day.

Whispering Canyon is great. Backlot Express is good, but typical Disney fastfood (which is just fine for me).
 
T

The Adventurer

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the advice. We are planning to go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and we are on the Disney Dining Plan, but we are doing many extra meals as you can see. I am still unsure of which dinner show to choose. I'll think about your Epcot advice, but my Aunt is a naturalist and has never been to Disney's Animal Kingdom, so I'm sure we'll want to spend two days there. Our second day at Epcot is going to be an ALL day World Showcase tour, while our first will be Future World and a nighttime loop around the Seven Seas Lagoon.

I'm thinking about changing Rose & Crown Pub & Dining Room to Le Chefs de France, because we both speak French, but she is also a big Canada fan (she visits every year). We'll still probably wake up early every day because we are normally early risers anyway.

Everytime I've been to Rainforest Cafe I've loved it (at both locations) so I'll still probably go there. The food was great and the service was wonderful. I've also been to The Crystal Palace and Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner and Cinderella's Royal Table for lunch. In Epcot I've been to Garden Grill and Coral Reef, but I thought that Coral Reef might be better on the Meal Plan (the last time I went to Coral Reef DDP did not exist). I've also been to 50s Prime Time Cafe, Sci-Fi, & Restaurantosaurus. I've never been to any of the Resort table-service restaurants except Chef Mickey's, Whispering Canyon Cafe, and Maya Grill. I love Chef Mickey's as much at dinner as at breakfast and Whispering Canyon Cafe is one of my favorites. I wasn't impressed with Maya Grill though.

Thanks for all the help. I need all the advice I can get. :king:
 
T

The Adventurer

New Member
Original Poster
As far as booking goes (not just for dining per say) how far in advance should I book. I am not going until October 2007, but I am aware that advanced planning is key. I am eighteen and this will be my first time to actually make all of the telephone calls, so I'm a little green.
 
shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
The Adventurer said:
As far as booking goes (not just for dining per say) how far in advance should I book. I am not going until October 2007, but I am aware that advanced planning is key. I am eighteen and this will be my first time to actually make all of the telephone calls, so I'm a little green.
Click to expand...

You are able to make your ressie's 180 days in advance of your trip (of course, you must stay on property otherwise it is 90 days). I would recommend doing any character meals and Le Cellier as soon as they open the phone lines on the 180th day at 7:00a.

I forgot you mentioned this was an all out vacation, so you might want to consider some of the tours like behind the seeds at the Land in Epcot http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/tours.htm or the Illuminations cruise http://www.allearsnet.com/btp/illum.htm.
 
M

meredetrois

New Member
Of those choices we have eaten at Pecos Bill's, Liberty Tree Tavern and Flame Tree BBQ. We enjoyed all three. The portions at most counter service restaurants are large, if I remember correctly. We really enjoyed Liberty Tree Tavern because of the interaction with the characters. When we were at Epcot, we ate at the counter service restaurant in Mexico. It was good and there is seating overlooking the lake. I don't remember that the wait was very long.

We will be eating at Breakfastosauras and the Sci-Fi Dine-In on our upcoming trip. :slurp:
 
Dagger

Dagger

Member
For one of your MK lunches, I'd choose Cosmic Ray's somewhere...it's a fun place (for burgers, etc.) and nice and big and cool inside.

You are also missing Dinner at Epcot on the first day and honestly I haven't had a bad meal there....Coral Reef was my least favorite but this was years ago. I'd try Canada's Le Cellier or France or Mexico (or China or Japan...) well, you get the point. Depends what kind of food you want.

Why will you not be going back?
 
T

The Adventurer

New Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reservation and dining tips. I could probably throw in another table-service place for dinner at Epcot for our first day. We are planning to visit one of the other World Showcase eateries for dinner on our second day, but hey this is an all out vacation so why not try two. The reason I found it best not to do a full table-service meal that day was because of IllumiNations. Two years ago, we ate at Akershus (the other times I have been were with other family members) and we missed the fireworks. On our first night I want to make sure to see them. Thanks for the advice again!:king:

P.S. If I do choose to eat at two table-service restaurants at World Showcase in Epcot, which two should I choose? I have only been to Akershus Royal Banquet hall for dinner. Just so you know, me and my aunt both are not picky eaters. We will eat anything!!!
 
DisneyMarg

DisneyMarg

Member
As long as you have Boma on the schedule you can't go wrong by me!

As for World Showcase, we liked Biergarten (fun and good food) and Marrakesh (interesting and interesting food). We had a good lunch at Chefs du France. San Angel in Mexico is really an interesting setting, but the food is nothing to write home about. We also enjoy Akershus, which may have changed since your last visit. On my next trip I hope to finally make it to Le Cellier as people here rave about it.

And, responding to some of the comments, we made two visits to Animal Kingdom on our last trip and had plenty to keep us busy. If you slow down, enjoy the animals, shows, and parades, there is more than enough for one day. And it is all excellent. So I like your plan for 2 days at each park.

People here have better things to say about Hoop De Do Review - have never been there.

Whispering Canyon is good barbecue and a fun place. Really fun. Wild and crazy fun.

I don't remember you mentioning 'Ohana - that's usually a must for first timers.

All in all it sounds great and I wish I could go along as your official taster!
 
DisneyMarg

DisneyMarg

Member
One more thing - to me Biergarten feels a little less like table service and a little more like counter service so I think it's a good lunch choice. (I don't know why I think that. It's a full buffet. I think it's just the rollicking atmosphere and the fact that you sit at tables with other people.)
 
T

The Adventurer

New Member
Original Poster
Thank You DisneyMarg. Yeah, as I have said before, my Aunt is a naturalist and has never been to Disney's Animal Kingdom, so the fact that there is a park with all the magic of Disney and all the stunning beauty of the natural world would be like the ultimate dream come true for her. That's basically what our second visit is for. We'll probably ride Kilimanjaro multiple times, hang out around the trails and probably take in Rafiki's Planet Watch without feeling rushed. For our first days at the parks, I always go by Birnbaum's Step-By-Step Sample Schedules and then, if I have the option, I make up a second day itenerary. Thank you for your advice. :king:
 
AkiraRaptor

AkiraRaptor

Meega, nala kwishta!
Thats a good list, but might I make a few suggestions. You said it was a spare no expense, so I'd recommend you you "step up" a few of your choices.

While I love Rose & Crown, Le Chefs de France is a better choice. And like said before, the Food and Wine will be going on. You'll have plenty of food choices to try out instead of counter service.

You should also keep an eye out for the special Food & Wine engagements you can attend. http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/ep/foodwine.htm I've attended a few of the dinners and specials over the years. They can make for a special day to do them instead of the regular choices.

Also, as much as I love Boma for breakfast, dinner is not as special to me, but AKL's other rstaurant is spectacular for dinner, and worth every penny of it's cost. I'd recommend you do Jiko instad of Boma. Your taste buds will thank you.

Have fun and eat well!
 
4friends4ever

4friends4ever

New Member
We love dining at WDW almost as much as we love the parks. You have made some terrific choices, Good Job!

Last year we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and had breakfast every morning at Boatwright's Dining Hall. I would definitely try to add this place to your busy list of restaurants for breakfast.

My dear boyfriend is very traditional, 2 eggs, bacon, toast for him. Myself I absolutely loved the Sweet Potato Cakes ( 3 huge sweet potato pancakes with honey pecan butter) you could choice bacon, sausage or ham. They were soooo good. And Banana Stuffed French Toast. Every other day I would have one then the other.

We ate breakfast at Whispering Canyon a few years back. It was good and the amusement factor was quit good, but if you really want a different and delicious breakfast head to Boatwright's Dining Hall.

I believe they open at 8am.

Have a great time
 
shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
Jiko is very good, I've been there twice now. I do prefer it over Boma, only because it seems like the use coconut in many dishes there and I hate coconut, so it is more of a personal taste issue than anything else.
 

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