Restaurant Choice Advice

[tickerbelle]

Well I think my husband and I have finally hashed out where we want to go to eat on what days of our five night trip with the dining plan. We are not park hopping, so we picked restaurants according to where we are going to be on that day. It's just the two of us, no kids yet, so you might notice a lack of charecter dining, as I think we will get enough interaction with the charecters in the parks. Does everyone think we have chosen well or made any big mistakes...

Day 1 - Arrive, settle in hotel (POR I think) and head over to DTD for our first night. We are thinking we will hit Wolfgang Pucks Cafe or Raglan Road here.

Day 2 - AK
counter -Tusker House or Flametree, this we can decide on when there and hungry.
sit down -Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge

Day 3 - Epcot
Counter - Whatever the counter is in Mexico
sit down - Le Cellier

Day 4 - MGM
counter - another decide when we get there
sit down - We are thinking 50's Prime Time, but have heard MGM leaves something to be desired, in terms of eating options. And MGM area resort restaurants we should try?

Day 5 - MK (my favorite day!)
counter - we'll see where we are when we get hungry.
sit down - Ohana at the Poly.

Now, since we are not park hopping, is it okay to leave MK on the day we are going there, go to the Poly to eat and come back for wishes? You can re-enter the same park you were at in the same day right? Might be a stupid question, but it needed to be asked....
Thanks for any advice.

 

[tigsmom]

To answer your last question...yes you can go back to the MK after dinner. You can come & go as many times as you wish. Have you thought of maybe taking in Wishes from the beach at the Poly? Its very romantic. :animwink:
You can also see the Electric Water Parade afterwards.

 

[campdisney]

At MGM, I'd try the Sci-Fi Drive In Theatre. You can snuggle up with with your honey in the backseat watching clips of B sci-fi flicks while you dine. It just has cool theming --carhops, convertibles, the works. Its a really fun time - glowing ice cubes and all!

I've heard good things about the Prime-Time Cafe too -- but I've avoided it both trips. I'm the type that would get really embarassed if I got picked on by the staff. And my husband is the type that would make sure we get picked on!

 

[LeeLee D]

I've heard good things about the Prime-Time Cafe too -- but I've avoided it both trips. I'm the type that would get really embarassed if I got picked on by the staff. And my husband is the type that would make sure we get picked on!

Glad I'm not the only one. I've always wanted to try Prime Time for the food and decor, but I am uncomfortable with the staff being "in character". Maybe they need to open a "go to your room" section?

 

[pinkrose]

The Brown Derby in MGM is wonderful. It's one of my favorite places to dine.

 

[Prof Ecks]

I agree. The Brown Derby is a great restaurant and an excellent environment. When we were there last year the maitre' dee (sp?) got out the book of stars that they have there, with everyone from Will Smith to Hillary Duff in the book. He said he took one look at my kids and knew they were going to be stars one day and wanted their signatures in the book now! As you might imagine my kids were wowed and had a great rest of the meal, feeling very magical.

I like the Prime Time, though my wife doesn't, but if you check the menu, there is no comparison in the fare. Also, if you like to have a glass of wine with your meal the Brown Derby has a fine and fun wine list. They specialize in the vineyards owned by movies stars or their families, which is fun for the adults. Finally, a streetmosphere character may turn up in the restaurant which is always fun.

The Prime Time would be fine for lunch, but I wouldn't eat my dinner there.

 

[tickerbelle]

Thank you for the advice. As MGM is not one of the biggest parks and we don't have any special interest in fantasmic, is it a good idea to take the evening off from the parks and check out another of the resorts. We would already be going to Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat at Boma and the Poly to eat at Oahana. The Wilderness Lodge seems so amazing so maybe a nice dinner at Whispering Canyon or Artists Point.
Is the Brown Derby on the meal plan, or is it a 2 meal deal thing. Same question for Artist's Point.
Where can I find a list of restaurants that take just one sit down credit for the meal plan?
Thank you all so much!

 

[Lucky]

Boma was great. We were there last Monday. Get there early to look at the animals, gift shop and lobby. AKL is a truly wonderful place. At AK, we have always liked Flame Tree, and also tried Pizzafari for the first time on Wednesday during evening EMH. It was surprisingly good, although maybe I was just especially hungry.

 

[DisneyMarg]

Sounds like a great list of restaurants to me!

Just a few additional comments:
We love Tusker House. It's like a full restaurant meal at a counter service restaurant.
We also love Boma. Any dining plan that includes Boma is a good one, in my book!
We have enjoyed Prime Time Cafe, Sci-Fi Dine In, and Hollywood and Vine at MGM. The food is best at Prime Time and H&V, but Sci-Fi is a unique, fun experience!
I see a lot of "wait and see" when it comes to counter service. You could eat the in park table service meals at lunch (like Prime Time Cafe) and then eat at a resort counter service for dinner. I don't have one to recommend, but I do think there are some good ones out there. Maybe other posters will have suggestions.

 

[Love Mickey 18B]

Brown Derby - it is an excellent place to eat, but it does take 2 TS credits on the DDP. We are eating there this year and can also get the Fantasmic package on the DDP. We love Fantasmic and have done the package before.

We also have ressies at Prime Time 50's cafe, this is on the DDP for 1 TS credit. We have done the Sci Fi - not on the DDP, so we have decided to try the Prime Time this time. Remember that alcholic beverages are not included on the DDP, they are separate.

As concerns CS credits, we'll just take it as it comes. We'll do the Backlot for lunch one day (be sure to do this during regular dinner/lunch hours) - hamburgers that have been sitting around are not tasty.

And we'll do the ESPN club for a TS too. ESPN club is a short walk/boat ride from MGM. Probably not one of the best uses of the $$ for DDP but we like to go there each trip. ESPN club is at the Boardwalk. Across the lake is the Beach Club where they also have Beaches & Cream as a TS on the DDP.

Wow did I go off of the orignal question - :lol:

 

[kachow]

You could also consider taking the ferry over to Boardwalk to check out either Spoodles or Flying Fish Cafe.

 

[3IAlienKid]

Another vote for the Brown Derby at MGM. The Cobb Salad is fantastic (as it should be -- the Cobb made it's debut at the original BD in Hollywood, CA).

I'm not crazy about the Wolfgang Puck restaurants. I've not tried the one in DTD, but I've been to 2 in Southern California several x's and I've never really enjoyed my dishes. Raglan Road sounds interesting, plus there's the excitement of eating at a brand new place that most of us have yet to try.

We really like Ohana's, hope you do too.

Have a great time!

 

[il grande chuck]

we're going in november (first time for my whole family), and after doing much research on the subject, i'm glad to see that your choices are very similar to ours. we'll also be doing tusker house, boma, le cellier, and ohana.

we're also going to the california grill (i've scheduled it so that we can see wishes from there), sci-fi dine-in, and artist point (we'll be staying at wl). for counter service, we'll also do cosmic ray's, harbor columbia house, and pecos bill's.

i see that you're in upstate ny. we're in rochester - how about you?

chuck

 

[TikiBeckie]

I would highly recommend Prime Time Cafe, it is our fave and the food is great!

 

[sbkline]

Where can I find a list of restaurants that take just one sit down credit for the meal plan?
Thank you all so much!

It will be easier to give you a list of the restaraunts that take 2 credits. I got this list from another poster here, so hopefully it is accurate. According to him, there are 12 "signature" restaraunts, which all require 2 table service credits:

Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge
Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort
Flying Fish Cafe at the Boardwalk Inn
California Grill at the Contemporary Resort
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review at Fort Wilderness
Mickey's Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness
Citricos at the Grant Floridian
Narcoossee's at the Grand Floridian
Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at the Polynesian Resort
Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge
Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom
Hollywood Brown Derby at MGM

I think Victoria & Alberts, as well as the more expensive of the two French Restaraunts at EPCOT are so expensive that they aren't even on the DDP

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

While we're all sharing ...

I'm hitting a few new spots (for me, anyway) on this next trip (Oct. 20-29! :sohappy: ) -- Boma, Hollywood and Vine and Le Cellier. We're doing the Fantasmic package at H&V. Of course, we're going to Sci-fi. It's one of my favorites. After reading comments from all you guys about how good these places are, I couldn't pass them up anymore.

Hope it turns out delicious for all!

 

[MissDiznee66]

As far as 1 TS at MGM, how about SciFi or Hollywood & Vine, both great restaurants in my opinion. As far as a place near MGM, how about Cape May Cafe' at the Beach Club, just take the boat over. But also the Fantasmic is a must see as far as I'm concerned. Have a Great time, whatever you decide!