What the heck, critique my ADR's too

[IndyDisney]

Oh, and please feel free to suggest others. I still have seven credits left. . . FWIW myself, DW, and DD4

Day 1 - OPEN - Arrival Day. Not sure when we're getting there and kind of afraid to book a lunch. As for dinner, not sure if we'll hit the parks (MK), so don't want to put us at, say, Boma, then have to truck it to MK if we've been on the road most of the day. Any help here would be appreciated

Day 2 - AK (B) Donald's Safari at Tusker House (L)Yak and Yeti (D)Akershus

Day 3 - MK (L) Cinderella's Royal Table (D) Whispering Canyon

Day 4 - EPCOT (B) ?? (L) Biergarten (D) Chip n Dale's Garden Grill

Day 5 - DHS (B) Disney Playhouse and H&V (L) Scifi (D) Coral Reef

Day 6 - OPEN (B) Chef Mickey's (L) ?? (D) ?? Don't really want to be tied down by reservations, but probably going to do the Fantasmic Dinner Dealie

Day 7 - MK (B) ?? (L) Crystal Palace (D) 1900 Park Fare for the Cinderella Dealie


Whaddya all think?

Cheers,
Indy

 

[wizards8507]

Day 1 - Maybe move Whispering Canyon to dinner here, and CRT to dinner on Day 3? Just a thought.

Day 2 - Not a fan of Akershus but I know some people love it.

Day 3 - See comment on Day 1.

Day 4 - If you're going in the summer, I'd seriously reconsider Biergarten. The show is a lot of fun, but all-you-can-eat sausage is pretty seedy in 97 degree weather. As for the Garden Grill, I personally can't justify ever eating in Future World with all the options in the World Showcase but your daughter will love the characters.

Day 5/6 - Why not take a day off on 5? Could be good to take a pool/shopping day. Depending on the Fantasmic schedule for your week, consider doing the priority seating on the FIRST night it's showing during the week, so that if you catch bad weather you can change plans and get to see the show. It sucks when a showing gets rained out and there aren't any left for the remainder of your trip.

Day 7 - I'd move Crystal Palace to breakfast. The food is way better and if you book earlier than MK opens, you get to enter the park before everyone else.

 

[IndyDisney]

As you can see, there is at least one character dining experience a day, obviously for DD4. Good thoughts on Fantasmic! I'll look into that. As for CRT, we have BBB booked for Tuesday morning. It's kind of a princess-themed day. We thought about moving Whispering Canyon to the first day we're there. Maybe we'll do that. Then we're close to MK to go see the fireworks.

Thanks for the ideas. Any others?

Cheers,
Indy

 

[GOT2SAMMIES]

If you like characters breakfast, why not do Ohana's for breakfast before heading to MK or do Kona Cafe? Then you hop the monorail over to MK..but I wouldn't do this if you plan on getting to MK early...Give Ohana at least an 1.5 time frame to eat and play...

 

[mickeysshoes]

An idea for lunch on arrival day (and what we are doing) is either going to Big River Grill or Beachs and Cream. Both on dining plan and neither take ADR's!!! So you can just head over when you are ready..then maybe hit Epcot or HS after??? Another suggestion i have to rethink the 3 meals aday....boy i am full just reading all your meals! Have more signutaure meals and only do 2 a day. By the middle of your stay eating 3 meals you will not want anything else. Use the snacks for a quick breaksfast or snacky lunch if you have a TS breakfast!! Good Luck and have fun!!!

 

[ThinkTink721]

We learned the hard way not to book anything on our arrival date.
The experience of running through a park to get to a reservation on time was not pleasant.
MK dinner suggestions:
Ohana (Polynesian Resort)

Donald's Safari - Great characters & food!!! :slurp:
Yak and Yeti - Never eaten there, but I hear it's good.
Akershus - Love it!!!

Cinderella's Royal Table - Eaten here for breakfast & it is wonderful!!!:slurp:
Whispering Canyon - One of our favorites!!! :slurp:

Biergarten - Never eaten there, but I hear it's good.
Garden Grill - Great character interaction & good food.

Disney Playhouse - Friends of ours ate there last year & their DD loved it.
Sci-Fi - Great atmosphere - the burgers, fries, & shakes are yummy!!!:slurp:
Coral Reef - Friends of mine ate there & they liked it.

Chef Mickey's - Have only eaten dinner here, but I hear breakfast is great too! :slurp:
Fantasmic Package Dinner - We have done H&V w/ the FP & it was good.

Crystal Palace - Great characters & great food!!! :slurp:
1900 Park Fare - Characters are awesome & food is good!

Suggestions:
Ohana for dinner or breakfast
1900 Park Fare for breakfast
Hoop Dee Doo Revue dinner show

 

[Mukta]

I have a few general suggestions. It seems like you might be on the deluxe dining plan. Three sit down meals is too much food. If you want to stick with the deluxe, eat a 2 point meal each day. If you want to stick to what you have now, you might be better off with the regular dining plan.

Where are you staying? You can eat somewhere near your hotel on arrival day.

 

[IndyDisney]

Yes, we're on the Deluxe Dining Plan staying at CBR. I was hoping to have more 2cr meals, but it's just not in the cards. I would hate to drag DD4 to a place like Artist's Point or California Grill after a full day of characters and rides and have her be cranky and misbehave all while ruining the signature dining experience for everyone around us. I don't want to make it sound like she's a little monster (she's not), it's just hard to tell how she is going to be on our 4th day of the vacation after running around DHS for 5 hours, taking a nap, swimming and getting ready for dinner. I don't want to put her (or my wife) in a stressful situation.

That said, yes, 3 meals a day is a lot of food. Especially with apps and snacks. The issue is that with what we wanted to do, it financially made sense, even if we eat quick service for breakfast most days.

 

[bmarkelon]

Yes, we're on the Deluxe Dining Plan staying at CBR. I was hoping to have more 2cr meals, but it's just not in the cards. I would hate to drag DD4 to a place like Artist's Point or California Grill after a full day of characters and rides and have her be cranky and misbehave all while ruining the signature dining experience for everyone around us. I don't want to make it sound like she's a little monster (she's not), it's just hard to tell how she is going to be on our 4th day of the vacation after running around DHS for 5 hours, taking a nap, swimming and getting ready for dinner. I don't want to put her (or my wife) in a stressful situation.

That said, yes, 3 meals a day is a lot of food. Especially with apps and snacks. The issue is that with what we wanted to do, it financially made sense, even if we eat quick service for breakfast most days.

I definitely agree with adding at least one more 2 credit meal. We always take the kiddos to the signature dinner, just plan for an earlier dinner time....I always shoot for 5-5:30. It works for us and the meals are fabulous, nice to have one break up the buffets.
Another 2 credit option is room service, we always do one towards the end of the trip, not always the greatest menus but a very welcome break!
Otherwise you have a great list there!

 

[deb4him40]

You could try for Hoop Dee Doo Musical Review on arrival day. You could still go to the Magic Kindom and then catch the boat over to Fort Wilderness for the dinner show. Or you could hop the monorail and do the Spirit of Aloha Luau. Just suggestions.:slurp:

 

[sbkline]

Myself, I don't like to do the parks on arrival day. I like to arrive at 9 or 10 AM, then have the day to do Downtown Disney, do off property activities, etc. I like to just take it easy with other things on arrival day and then dive into the parks the next day. With that in mind, on arrival day, I would suggest eating somewhere off property. If you said where you are staying, I missed it, but you might just stay "home" that first day and eat at your resort. I always want to reserve one evening to eat at "home", but even if you don't want to do that, you could go to another resort to eat, go to Downtown Disney, or as someone else mentioned, maybe Hoop-Dee-Doo.

From that full dining schedule, I'm assumming you're doing the Deluxe Dining Plan?

***Edit*** After reading down a little more, I see that you are on the Deluxe Plan and you're staying at Carribbean Beach. So I would encourage you to try Shutters at Old Port Royale. I've never eaten there, so I can't vouch for it, but I am a firm believer in reserving at least one evening to try the restaraunt at your home resort. To me, that's part of the experience of the hotel. Not only are you paying to be at WDW and enjoying the parks, but you're also paying for that hotel. So enjoy all it has to offer: the pool, sample some recreation, the food court, the full service restaraunt.

We were initially booked for CBR for our upcoming April trip (next week!) and I had an ADR set for Shutters. However, we then upgraded to Wilderness Lodge, so my Shutters ressie was changed to Whispering Canyon, since that was the evening I had set aside to try the resort restaraunt.

 

[IndyDisney]

Myself, I don't like to do the parks on arrival day. I like to arrive at 9 or 10 AM, then have the day to do Downtown Disney, do off property activities, etc. I like to just take it easy with other things on arrival day and then dive into the parks the next day. With that in mind, on arrival day, I would suggest eating somewhere off property. If you said where you are staying, I missed it, but you might just stay "home" that first day and eat at your resort. I always want to reserve one evening to eat at "home", but even if you don't want to do that, you could go to another resort to eat, go to Downtown Disney, or as someone else mentioned, maybe Hoop-Dee-Doo.

From that full dining schedule, I'm assumming you're doing the Deluxe Dining Plan?

***Edit*** After reading down a little more, I see that you are on the Deluxe Plan and you're staying at Carribbean Beach. So I would encourage you to try Shutters at Old Port Royale. I've never eaten there, so I can't vouch for it, but I am a firm believer in reserving at least one evening to try the restaraunt at your home resort. To me, that's part of the experience of the hotel. Not only are you paying to be at WDW and enjoying the parks, but you're also paying for that hotel. So enjoy all it has to offer: the pool, sample some recreation, the food court, the full service restaraunt.

We were initially booked for CBR for our upcoming April trip (next week!) and I had an ADR set for Shutters. However, we then upgraded to Wilderness Lodge, so my Shutters ressie was changed to Whispering Canyon, since that was the evening I had set aside to try the resort restaraunt.

We're actually planning on hitting Shutters at some point, probably for lunch when we arrive, depending on when we get there.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

if you have that many credits left have you thought of doing a signature venue or two?

Day 1 - OPEN - Arrival Day. Not sure when we're getting there and kind of afraid to book a lunch. As for dinner, not sure if we'll hit the parks (MK), so don't want to put us at, say, Boma, then have to truck it to MK if we've been on the road most of the day. Any help here would be appreciated

if you're not sure when you're getting there etc... i'd plan for a lunch at either dtd or one of the resorts. you can usually get in without an adr especially at dtd mid day. if you're pretty sure that if you hit a park the first night it will be mk then why not make an adr at one of the resorts on the monorail loop (gf, poly, or contemporary) there are a lot of great choices and if you don't hit the park you're ok for the adr and if you do mk you're right there.

Day 2 - AK (B) Donald's Safari at Tusker House (L)Yak and Yeti (D)Akershus

Day 3 - MK (L) Cinderella's Royal Table (D) Whispering Canyon
crt is a must do at least once for everyone imo. what kid (no matter what their age) wants to be able to cross eating in cinderellas castle off their bucket list.

Day 4 - EPCOT (B) ?? (L) Biergarten (D) Chip n Dale's Garden Grill

if you want a princess meal askerus is nice but the pastry shop in norway and france have some really yummy choices too.

Day 5 - DHS (B) Disney Playhouse and H&V (L) Scifi (D) Coral Reef

Day 6 - OPEN (B) Chef Mickey's (L) ?? (D) ?? Don't really want to be tied down by reservations, but probably going to do the Fantasmic Dinner Dealie
maybe here's a place you could use 2 credits and do hollywood brown derby. 50's prime time is fun too.

Day 7 - MK (B) ?? (L) Crystal Palace (D) 1900 Park Fare for the Cinderella Dealie
i'd do crystal palace for breakfast and do either the plaza, ltt, or tony's for lunch. there aren't many breakfast choices otherwise inside mk. another option would be hit the poly for the kona cafe or ohanas for breakfast. if you haven't been to 1900 park fare for dinner yet you're in for a treat. imo it's the most fun of the princess character meals...wait til you meet the stepsisters. druzella is FANTASTICALLY HYSTERICAL in particular.

looks like you have a lot of fun places booked. some of them are better for the entertainment and atmosphere with just average food but if you're laughing through dinner and make great memories it's more than worth it.

 

[docnabox]

Oh, and please feel free to suggest others. I still have seven credits left. . . FWIW myself, DW, and DD4

Day 1 - OPEN - Arrival Day. Not sure when we're getting there and kind of afraid to book a lunch. As for dinner, not sure if we'll hit the parks (MK), so don't want to put us at, say, Boma, then have to truck it to MK if we've been on the road most of the day. Any help here would be appreciated

Day 2 - AK (B) Donald's Safari at Tusker House (L)Yak and Yeti (D)Akershus

Day 3 - MK (L) Cinderella's Royal Table (D) Whispering Canyon

Day 4 - EPCOT (B) ?? (L) Biergarten (D) Chip n Dale's Garden Grill

Day 5 - DHS (B) Disney Playhouse and H&V (L) Scifi (D) Coral Reef

Day 6 - OPEN (B) Chef Mickey's (L) ?? (D) ?? Don't really want to be tied down by reservations, but probably going to do the Fantasmic Dinner Dealie

Day 7 - MK (B) ?? (L) Crystal Palace (D) 1900 Park Fare for the Cinderella Dealie


Whaddya all think?

Cheers,
Indy

I think it sounds great. I also think you are going to need a big bottle of Tums while you are there and a gym membership for when you get home! :lol:

 

[ob1thx1138]

Both my wife and I are very...ummm .... well fluffy. (think 300lb plus) we got the delux dining plan and had several signature dinners (spirit of aloha, hoop dee doo, cali grill, brown derby) and by the end of our 8 day trip we were absolutely sick of eating. So yes I very much support doing only 2 meals a day. We do plan on getting the deluxe plan again on our next trip, but we will only be doing two meals a day and skipping the buffet breakfasts as much as possible except 1900 park fare we loved that one, but our kids are older 16, 8 and they got a lot more out of the face characters.
On our last/first trip we did the following breakfasts:

1900 park fare: average buffet food with great specialties and loved the characters

Tusker house: average buffet food with great specielties and characters with big heads

Chef Mickeys: average buffet food and characters with big heads

Ohana: average food and characters with big heads

Crystal Palace :average buffet food and characters with big heads

We also ate at the Yak and Yeti which you mentioned and it was wonderful.


oh and we did the parks from open to close every day and walked who knows how many miles in the hot June-July sun and I ended up gaining 5 pounds on the trip.... lol

 

[IndyDisney]

I think it sounds great. I also think you are going to need a big bottle of Tums while you are there and a gym membership for when you get home! :lol:

Tums and Zantac will be daily staples. I get full by looking at my reservation sheet. It's going to be a lot of food, but hey, it's vacation. If I don't come back 8 lbs. heavier, I feel I didn't do a good job.

Just as an update: I booked Ohana for Dinner on arrival day. And depending on when we arrive and what kind of mood we're in (we're driving and don't quite have the itinerary locked in yet) we may hit EPCOT for Mexican or something quick service. Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Indy

 

[docnabox]

That is a fun way of looking at it. :animwink:

We all splurge and you should do so and enjoy every bite.

Have a great trip!

:wave:

 

[Mukta]

Just as an update: I booked Ohana for Dinner on arrival day. And depending on when we arrive and what kind of mood we're in (we're driving and don't quite have the itinerary locked in yet) we may hit EPCOT for Mexican or something quick service. Any suggestions?

Cheers,
Indy

I love the counter service place at Mexico. The food was fantastic, but it didn't have enough seating. Have a couple membes snag a table and the rest get the food.

 

[IndyDisney]

Oh, and please feel free to suggest others. I still have seven credits left. . . FWIW myself, DW, and DD4

Day 1 - MK - (B) Off Site (L) Liberty Tree (D) Ohana

Day 2 - AK (B) Donald's Safari at Tusker House (L)Yak and Yeti (D)Akershus

Day 3 - MK (L) Cinderella's Royal Table (D) Whispering Canyon

Day 4 - EPCOT (B) ?? (L) Via Napoli (D) Chip n Dale's Garden Grill

Day 5 - DHS (B) Disney Playhouse and H&V (L) Scifi (D) Coral Reef

Day 6 - OPEN (B) Chef Mickey's (L) ?? (D) ?? Don't really want to be tied down by reservations, but probably going to do the Fantasmic Dinner Dealie

Day 7 - MK (B) ?? (L) Crystal Palace (D) 1900 Park Fare for the Cinderella Dealie


Whaddya all think?

Cheers,
Indy

A little update. We're thinking we should be able to leave the evening before we planned and get into Orlando on Friday evening, giving us basically a whole day on Saturday, which changes everything a bit. I'll take it, though. An extra day at the MK - Sweet.

Cheers,
Indy