Thoughts on my Dining Itinerary?

[Disney Dining Dad]

My wife and I will be bringing our four-year-old daughter to Disney World for the first time in July, and as the "foodie" in the family, my responsibility is taking care of our meals. We have the Deluxe Dining Plan, and I have made reservations at a number of restaurants with the hopes of combining a fun, memorable experience for my daughter with some unbelievably good meals at "Signature Restaurants."

Here's what I currently have lined up:

Arrive on Sunday morning
Lunch: Be Our Guest
Dinner: Artist Point
We are staying in the Wilderness Lodge, and I thought we might just want to go to bed after dinner after waking up at 3:00 a.m. that day for our flight from PA.

Monday:
Breakfast: Cinderella's Royal Table
Dinner: 'Ohana

Tuesday:
Lunch: Yak and Yeti
Dinner: Yachtsman Steakhouse (this is our wedding anniversary, but our daughter will be with us)

Wednesday:
Lunch: '50s Prime Time Cafe
Dinner: Flying Fish

Thursday:
Breakfast: Garden Grill (Chip 'n' Dale's Harvest)
Dinner: Monsieur Paul

Depart on Friday

As you can see, I attempted to plan a day at each park, though we will have a hopper pass (and a few of the dinners are in or near Epcot).

I originally had our anniversary dinner at La Cellier, but I've read many reviews online saying that Yachtsman is better, even though it doesn't have the same hype.

I've also considered replacing Flying Fish with Narcoosee's or Artist Point with California Grill, but I've heard some negative reviews about the latter options while finding very few about the former.

My original plan for Epcot's one-credit meal was the Biergarten, but I feel like my daughter may prefer another character breakfast. Plus, many of the dinners are for mom and dad.

Please feel free to share any thoughts or suggestions that you may have. Thanks very much

 

[GVentola]

Wow, you actually managed to get reservations for Be Our Guest and Cinderella's Royal Table? How'd you do it? Those are hard to come by! Whatever you change, don't cancel those! You may not get the opportunity again!

Did you check the menus online to see if each restaurant provides a kids' menu with options your little girl would like? Is she well-behaved? An unruly child would be looked down upon at some of the fancier restaurants. My parents and I went to Shula's Steakhouse at the Dolphin a couple of months ago, and I saw a family with kids coming in, and I thought, "Oh, no! They're going to ruin the ambience!" But to my surprise, the children were quiet and perfectly behaving. Since your a self-professed "foodie", I assume you've dined out with her at local fancy restaurants, so I guess you've already taught her how to act.

 

[Schneewittchen]

I can vouch for a lot of your choices.

Artist Point is my favorite restaurant at WDW. I love the Pacific Northwest and the menu takes me there. Wonderful seafood and DH raves about the meat. Can't wait to get back later in a few short weeks.

Yak and Yeti is a great option too. Yummy curries. If the world is dragging you down, get a Yak Attack to adjust your attitude.

I haven't been to Flying Fish since the remodel, I loved it before, but one of my friends (serious foodie) was disappointed with his last visit.

Narcoossee's is solid. We had a fantastic meal there last spring. Beautiful water views at night.

Be Our Guest is a decent lunch. It's hard to mess up a turkey sandwich.

I've only done 'Ohana for breakfast - oh man that's a tasty breakfast. One of my co-workers (Disnerd like me) raves about the dinners.

I did Le Cellier for dinner last fall and really liked it. It was a solid filet. Yes, I've had better, but it was pretty darn good.

In about a month I can report back on Cinderella's Royal Table for dinner and a Garden Grill lunch.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

So. Much. Food. that's my only thought.

 

[Weather_Lady]

You've chosen well-reviewed restaurants. I just don't know how you're going to eat all of that food and stay upright! (But of course, that's my reaction to any itinerary that involves the deluxe dining plan or otherwise includes more than one TS meal per day.)

I say enjoy, drink lots of water, do plenty of walking in between meals, don't be afraid to ask for doggie bags for your leftovers at a la carte restaurants (or get your dessert "to go" if you're stuffed) and have a Happy Anniversary!

 

[larandtra]

My wife and I will be bringing our four-year-old daughter to Disney World for the first time in July, and as the "foodie" in the family, my responsibility is taking care of our meals. We have the Deluxe Dining Plan, and I have made reservations at a number of restaurants with the hopes of combining a fun, memorable experience for my daughter with some unbelievably good meals at "Signature Restaurants."

Here's what I currently have lined up:

Arrive on Sunday morning
Lunch: Be Our Guest
Dinner: Artist Point
We are staying in the Wilderness Lodge, and I thought we might just want to go to bed after dinner after waking up at 3:00 a.m. that day for our flight from PA.

Monday:
Breakfast: Cinderella's Royal Table
Dinner: 'Ohana

Tuesday:
Lunch: Yak and Yeti
Dinner: Yachtsman Steakhouse (this is our wedding anniversary, but our daughter will be with us)

Wednesday:
Lunch: '50s Prime Time Cafe
Dinner: Flying Fish

Thursday:
Breakfast: Garden Grill (Chip 'n' Dale's Harvest)
Dinner: Monsieur Paul

Depart on Friday

As you can see, I attempted to plan a day at each park, though we will have a hopper pass (and a few of the dinners are in or near Epcot).

I originally had our anniversary dinner at La Cellier, but I've read many reviews online saying that Yachtsman is better, even though it doesn't have the same hype.

I've also considered replacing Flying Fish with Narcoosee's or Artist Point with California Grill, but I've heard some negative reviews about the latter options while finding very few about the former.

My original plan for Epcot's one-credit meal was the Biergarten, but I feel like my daughter may prefer another character breakfast. Plus, many of the dinners are for mom and dad.

Please feel free to share any thoughts or suggestions that you may have. Thanks very much

Great choices on most of those, but, wow, that is a LOT of food. Just me, eating one light sit down or lounge meal at lunch and then a more extensive meal at Dinner is usually the way I go. I used to try two big sit down meals in a day and found I couldnt eat that much food. The Deluxe dining plan is a great thing if you are going to be eating a ton of food. Your restaurant choices are solid, some of the tops on property, so I certainly applaud the choices.

 

[Schneewittchen]

Don't sweat the too much food thing. My family has been known to do 2 or 3 TS meals in a day. Walking around WDW can be hard work.

Breakfast buffet at Trail's End. Lunch at the San Angel Inn or Restaurant Marrakesh. Dinner at Akershus.

Breakfast at 'Ohana, lunch at Meadow Snack Bar, dinner at Narcoossee's.

Or cereal bar breakfast, lunch at Yak & Yeti, dinner at Tusker House.

It just might mean we take it easy on the snacks.

 

[sgtmgd]

Good Choice for the Yachtsman, my wife and I enjoy it far more than Le Cellier and that's still a great place to eat. Narcoossee's is also VERY VERY good and the view at night is fantastic.

 

[ELG13]

CRT for breakfast was our favorite last trip. The quiche with goat cheese was light but so satisfying. It did feel a little rushed but we didn't want to waste the day in the castle. And our 5yo daughter loved it!!!! Yak and yeti was delicious as well and the yak attack was right in time lol!!

 

[DarthVader]

Arrive on Sunday morning
Lunch: Be Our Guest

My only concern would be what time do you arrive vs. what time lunch is. Delays are possible, so hopefully you have sufficient padding in your timing to account for such things.

 

[Amos1784]

I know everyone says "too much food" and sometimes I do agree. But on the flip side you don't HAVE to order appetizers/entree/dessert at every restaurant and don't have to leave stuffed. I think that there are days that we have done three table service restaurants and just picked good choices while eating. The reason being (especially if its hot) it's a nice break to put your feet up, have a bite to eat and recharge. Also, for us dining is part of the experience, it doesn't kill me to take out "park time" to dine at a great WDW restaurant.

Only food choices I would caution would be Prime Time and Flying Fish. Last few times we were at prime time the food tasted like re-heated microwave meals, show from the wait staff however was still great. Flying Fish we may have just had a bad experience but my husband and I both did not like or enjoy our entrees, we found it bland and uninspired.

The day with Cinderella's Royal Table followed by Dinner at O'Hana? PERFECTION

 

[Disney Dining Dad]

Thanks for all of the feedback, everyone. Your replies have been very helpful.

DarthVader - Our plane is expected to arrive in Orlando at 8:00 a.m., and our lunch at BOG isn't until 1:15. We booked it late to allow for any potential issues.

I'm actually more concerned about the lack of time between that lunch reservation and dinner at Artist Point at 5:15. I booked that early because I thought we might be quite tired after waking up at 3 a.m. for the flight from Pittsburgh. So, I may have to keep things light at BOG in order to fully appreciate a good meal at AP.

Thanks again.

 

[Figgy1]

All good choices including Y&Y but seeing you're on deluxe DDP for the same credit maybe see if you can get a TH breakfast.

 

[correcaminos]

I do agree that sounds like a lot of food, but I'm not a huge eater. My real concern is the first day. I worry that a 4yo might be really tired for a really nice dinner the first night if too late. And it likely will be nearly not enough time to have a real meal at lunch. Maybe opt for appetizers and desserts mostly for you guys if you want to see the restaurant?

Otherwise good choices. Le Cellier nixing was smart as it is so over hyped. As long as your kid loves to sit down to eat that much you should enjoy.

 

[Disney Dining Dad]

I am also a little concerned about that first night dining experience, but with the deluxe plan, we get three meal credits for each of the days when we will be spending a night at the resort. So, we'll need to use three that day and will likely arrive, have our late lunch at BOG (one credit) and our early dinner at Artist Point (two credits).

We have a hopper pass for that day (and the four days after that), but we might not end up spending much time out at the parks on arrival day. We can check into Wilderness Lodge at 3:00 so we may even end up needing a nap that afternoon to refuel for the evening.

It would be nice if we could use our meal credits on Friday, when we actually don't fly out of Orlando until 9:00 that evening, but it is my understanding that it doesn't work that way. You get the credits for the days that turn into night stays. So, we will likely just spend the last day at the pool at WL and plan to pay OOP for breakfast at Whispering Canyon and lunch at Geyser Point.

 

[Tuvalu]

It would be nice if we could use our meal credits on Friday, when we actually don't fly out of Orlando until 9:00 that evening, but it is my understanding that it doesn't work that way. You get the credits for the days that turn into night stays. So, we will likely just spend the last day at the pool at WL and plan to pay OOP for breakfast at Whispering Canyon and lunch at Geyser Point.

Meal credits expire at 11:59 pm on check out day. If you have remaining credits you will be able to use them on your last day. Credits can be used however you want; you can use extra credits one day (perhaps you want an additional snack or dine at a signature for lunch and dinner) or you can use fewer credits another day (perhaps you skip breakfast.) Unused credits can be redeemed for snacks before you leave.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I'm not a fan of Monsieur Paul or Ohana. In my opinion, Chefs de France downstairs is MUCH better with better everything, especially ambience. ...but the best restaurant in the World Showcase is the Biergarten. It's a buffet, but the food & beer is good and the German band is AWESOME. I'm ready to go NOW. The places in Mexico are good, especially the one out by the lagoon.

Ohana is like a cheap but expensive churrascaria. If you want this experience, find a Texas de Brazil or Logo de Chao and go there instead.