What would you do.....On a Budget:)

[theflame]

QUESTION-

We are on a tight budget and I have to plan each dollar I can before we leave....

Which meal would you choose if you had to choose TWO and why?:veryconfu

Chef Mickey- Character Dinner (all adv. res. are after 8:30...too late?) on day we arrive

1900 Park Fare-Early Character Dinner (5pm) before MNSSHP

Crystal Palace-Character Breakfast (8am) on MK day

Ohana-Dinner- No resv. are available before 9pm the whole week......can we do a walk-up?

ARE THERE OTHERS I SHOULD BE CONSIDERING? (12DD, 7DS, 1yo niece & 6 adults) BTW: My 12DD and 7DS will have b-days that week!):hammer:

Can you just walk-up to any rest. like these and put your name down? (we will have a party of 9)
What kind of wait should I expect? TRAVEL DATES 10/6-10/13 @ FW:sohappy:

Thanks so much for all of the help all y'all have given me!!!!!!1:wave:

 

[wdwmomof3]

Well, I am planning a trip for Sept and we just found out about it so I am on a tight budget too. (not much time to save) We are having dinner at Chef Mickeys at 7:30pm and I don't think that it is too late so another hour.:shrug: If you are planning on watching Wishes, that would be out. Something to think about.

We love going to 1900 Park Fare too and they are in the process of remodeling so I am sure that it will be even better. Having dinner at 5:00 may be better for you. We saw people dressed for the MNSSHP at dinner that night. We ate dinner across from the Hulk & other characters. It was funny. The food has always been good and the characters are so sweet to play things up with the children & grownups. One little mouse kept trying to hug & kiss my husband. My kids loved it.

Both of these places are on our must do list so what ever time works out best for you, that's what I would do. Have a great trip!!!

 

[theflame]

Thank you for that information wdwmomof3. I hope you have a great trip also! I think that just standing and looking at the castle would be enough for me...and cheap!

 

[wdwmomof3]

I am right there with you!!! I love going down there. :wave:

 

[George]

QUESTION-

We are on a tight budget and I have to plan each dollar I can before we leave....

Which meal would you choose if you had to choose TWO and why?:veryconfu

Chef Mickey- Character Dinner (all adv. res. are after 8:30...too late?) on day we arrive

1900 Park Fare-Early Character Dinner (5pm) before MNSSHP

Crystal Palace-Character Breakfast (8am) on MK day

Ohana-Dinner- No resv. are available before 9pm the whole week......can we do a walk-up?

ARE THERE OTHERS I SHOULD BE CONSIDERING? (12DD, 7DS, 1yo niece & 6 adults) BTW: My 12DD and 7DS will have b-days that week!):hammer:

Can you just walk-up to any rest. like these and put your name down? (we will have a party of 9)
What kind of wait should I expect? TRAVEL DATES 10/6-10/13 @ FW:sohappy:

Thanks so much for all of the help all y'all have given me!!!!!!1:wave:

My personal preferences are 1) Chef Mickey's. I don't know why but the food here seems better than the other character meals (hotter, fresher, etc). I really like the big dessert bar. Also, it seems like you get a ton of time with the big five (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, and Donald). Moreso than other character meals that feature some subset of these characters.

2) 1900 Park Fare. I think this meal is a good value.

As to your walk up question, I wouldn't try it. On my last trip, everyone who was just walking up and trying to get in a sit down restaurant was frustrated. Interestingly, one night I had a 5:30 reservation at Biergarten for a party of 6. We couldn't make it so I called and changed the reservation to 6:30 that same night. I think you may a bit of luck trying to make a reservation same day or day before because some people do cancel.

 

[slappy magoo]

Walk-ups are difficult for small parties nowadays, a party of nine, I'd think would always be SOL.

Yiu want cheap & sit-down? When going to MK, take a break, and hop on a ferry to Fort Wilderness. Trails' End buffet has a decent selection, and is probably THE least expensive non-counter-service meals on property. Plus, FW is a fun place to visit at night anyway - campfire singalongs, outdoor movies, Elec. Water Pageant...or just hop a ferry back to MK in time for fireworks.

EDIT: While I won't be as evil as Yoda wants me to be, I forbid you to tell anyone else about Trails' End. It's just that good, and we want to keep it on the DL

 

[coltow]

My choices would be Chef Mickey's and Crystal Palace. Character meals are always good. The food at these are also so. I suggest, seeing as you're watching your dollars to do Chef Mickey's for breakfast and CP for lunch. By not eating dinner it saves you some money. I've been to a birthday celebration at CM's and it was fun.

I suggest that you at least try to get reservations at them. It'll be hard with 9 people to get a table as a walk in. I think even if you split up it'll still be hard.

 

[ThinkTink721]

QUESTION-

We are on a tight budget and I have to plan each dollar I can before we leave....

Which meal would you choose if you had to choose TWO and why?:veryconfu

Chef Mickey- Character Dinner (all adv. res. are after 8:30...too late?) on day we arrive

1900 Park Fare-Early Character Dinner (5pm) before MNSSHP

Crystal Palace-Character Breakfast (8am) on MK day

Ohana-Dinner- No resv. are available before 9pm the whole week......can we do a walk-up?

ARE THERE OTHERS I SHOULD BE CONSIDERING? (12DD, 7DS, 1yo niece & 6 adults) BTW: My 12DD and 7DS will have b-days that week!):hammer:

Can you just walk-up to any rest. like these and put your name down? (we will have a party of 9)
What kind of wait should I expect? TRAVEL DATES 10/6-10/13 @ FW:sohappy:

Thanks so much for all of the help all y'all have given me!!!!!!1:wave:

Chef Mickey's for DS's b-day dinner.
1900 Park Fare for DD's b-day dinner.
Tip: You can order b-day cakes through WDW to be delivered to the restaurant of your choice (we did this last year for our oldest DS's b-day).

I would not recommend walking-in.
We saw people at The Crystal Palace last summer try to walk-in for dinner & they had very long wait times.
But, since your trip is not during the peak season or during free dining, you may be able to do a walk-in.

Hope this helps!
:wave:

 

[Master Yoda]

Walk-ups are difficult for small parties nowadays, a party of nine, I'd think would always be SOL.

Yiu want cheap & sit-down? When going to MK, take a break, and hop on a ferry to Fort Wilderness. Trails' End buffet has a decent selection, and is probably THE least expensive non-counter-service meals on property. Plus, FW is a fun place to visit at night anyway - campfire singalongs, outdoor movies, Elec. Water Pageant...or just hop a ferry back to MK in time for fireworks.

SHHHHHHHHH! Trails end IS Disney's best kept secret! If you tell to many people it will become as hard to get into as Le Cellier, the price will go up, the menu will change, the food quality will drop you know basically the worst parts of the bible. Edit you post and just tell them that walk ups for a party of 9 at Ohana's are never a problem and they should go for it.:lookaroun :lol:

 

[LoriMistress]

Since you're on a budget than I wouldn't recommend CRT. I would suggest making an ADR for Crystal Palace in the morning, so you'll deal with less crowds during the first part of the morning. I would also recommend 1900 Park Fare as well.

 

[mouselvrmom]

If I had to choose two of the ones you had picked, I would choose 1900 Park Fare and Crystal Palace.

1900 Park Fare would be nice because you would get to see Cinderella.

As for Crystal Palace, we always eat there because I love the ambience in there, the windows are spectacular, and my kids are big pooh fans!

 

[DisneyMarg]

Another option is to consider going to the pricier restaurants during lunch when prices are lower. You still get the great theming and in many cases similar food - just smaller portions. Buffets are great at lunch.

When we go on the economy plan, here's how we eat:
Breakfast in room early
Snack we brought at 10 or 11
Lunch at a nice restaurant 1:30 or 2
Back to the room for a rest and then a sandwich or light supper in the room
Back to the parks for the evening with a Disney snack

Also, everyone brings their own water and we are careful not to buy soft drinks all day long (which is very tempting!)