First Timer going in September...tell me what you think

[smithstation2004]

of my dining plan choices. We have the DDP, and I knew I needed to make ADR's soon, so I went ahead and booked based on what the CM said. What do you think? Are there any that I didn't do that are "Must Eats"? or any that I've booked that are no good?

I've got
Concourse Steakhouse
Tony's Town Square
Coral Reef--my son is in LOVE with aquariums
Ohana's
Donalds Breakfastsaurus
Prime Time 50's
Chef Mickey for a birthday breakfast for my DS (he'll be 3)

whatcha think?

 

[rentayenta]

of my dining plan choices. We have the DDP, and I knew I needed to make ADR's soon, so I went ahead and booked based on what the CM said. What do you think? Are there any that I didn't do that are "Must Eats"? or any that I've booked that are no good?

I've got
Concourse Steakhouse
Tony's Town Square
Coral Reef--my son is in LOVE with aquariums
Ohana's
Donalds Breakfastsaurus
Prime Time 50's
Chef Mickey for a birthday breakfast for my DS (he'll be 3)

whatcha think?

Looks good. Three buffets isn't too much and there seems to be a good variety!

 

[emlutz23]

Chef Mickey's is great for birthdays! We had my son's 3rd birthday there (for dinner) in January and he loved it!

We won't be going to back to Tony's. In the past we had good experiences, but this last time the menu wasn't very exciting and service was so-so.
But you'll find others love it, so I wouldn't change anything you've got. Just enjoy! If you don't like any of the restaurants, you know not to go back the next time.

 

[wilde_oscar]

Concourse Steakhouse

Above avg... Le Cellier would be my first choice for streak, but I think they have been booked solid since about 6 seconds after free DDP was anounced

Tony's Town Square

No longer a fan of Tony's... Last Sept. the service was marginal and the food sub par, from the recent reviews I have read thing have not improved.

Coral Reef--my son is in LOVE with aquariums

Be patient but persistant to get a window seat.

Ohana's

The food is below par, but the parade is fun.

Donalds Breakfastsaurus

Ask for Mikeasouras, if you have to wait a little it is still worth it. The food is ok, but we are gonna have breakfast with mikeasouras twice next trip, yes he is that good of a server.

Prime Time 50's

Gonna try it this Sept. the reviews are currently mixed

Chef Mickey for a birthday breakfast for my DS (he'll be 3)

If he likes the characters, you could not have picked a better place for B-Day Breakfast

 

[Golden Rose]

If your 3 year old is a fan of Little Einsteins or Jojo's Circus, you might consider the Playhouse Disney Play and Dine over at Disney/MGM. I've heard really great things about it for those of us with a preschooler. Our two year old just loves Little Einsteins, so we're doing that with him in September.

We're also doing Coral Reef for our own little fish crazy toddler... (Actually, we like the view, too.)

We're just doing two character meals, since we don't yet know how he'll react to the characters. (In our case, we also decided to do Cinderella's Royal Luncheon, or whatever it is called, not because he is crazy about princesses, but because we think he'll love the castle itself.) We really thought about Chef Mickey's, and will probably do it on our next trip assuming he isn't terrified of the characters.

 

[kcashner]

We really didn't like Concourse Steakhouse. The gal at the check in station needed a major attitude adjustment. We couldn't get a medium rare steak--they seemed to come in only rare or well done. Le Cellier is MUCH better. Another alternative would be Les Chefs de France. I'd continue to call about Le Cellier even after I arrived at WDW--a cancellation is always possible.

Tony's isn't on my list of favorites either. It just used to be much better.

Liberty Tree tavern is good (family style character dinner) if you're looking for something at MK.

O'hana has good/bad. The food isn't great, the atmosphere is.

Coral Reef, Chef Mickey's, Donald's Break..are great.
The Park Fare buffet at the Grand Floridian has wonderful food, but you have a lot of buffets already.

 

[smithstation2004]

I had to change a few things, because DH thought the breakfasts were a bad idea. We don't really eat breakfast, and I sorta got talked into them by the CM just trying to break up all the "big dinners". I agree with that, but forgot we don't usually eat breakfast so it won't really work for us.

I now have..
Concourse
Tony's---but after all the bad reviews I may change this one. Any suggestions for a not too fancy/crazy dinner?
Coral Reef--my little one is just CRAZY for aquariums, so I wouldn't change it for the world.
Yachtsman--just me and DH!!
Primetime 50's...I just heard it was so cute, but don't know about the reviews
one day free--unplanned...any suggestions?
and then Chef Mickeys I just changed to dinner for his birthday, which I wanted anyway to get him a cake. Don't want to get cake for Breakfast!!

any suggestions for the blanks and to replace Tony's? I know I'm running out of time. It was already hard to book some...Le Cellier looked great but was of course, booked. oh well.

 

[aubriee]

I now have..
Concourse
Tony's---but after all the bad reviews I may change this one. Any suggestions for a not too fancy/crazy dinner?
Coral Reef--my little one is just CRAZY for aquariums, so I wouldn't change it for the world.
Yachtsman--just me and DH!!
Primetime 50's...I just heard it was so cute, but don't know about the reviews
one day free--unplanned...any suggestions?
and then Chef Mickeys I just changed to dinner for his birthday, which I wanted anyway to get him a cake. Don't want to get cake for Breakfast!!

I've never eaten at Concourse, but Konas at the Polynesian is very good.

Afraid we don't like Tony's either (nasty)--I'd go with Crystal Palace (we've done all three meals (B,L,D) and all are good, plus you get the Pooh characters.

Coral Reef was loud everytime we ate there, food and service subpar, but your little one will love the giant aquarium. I'd keep it for sure! Be sure to ask for a table next to the tank.

Yachtsman I've never eaten at, but would love to. You do know it costs two TS credits though, right?

Prime Time is usually OK, but has gotten some negative reviews lately. Be sure to ask for a server that's really into it though. Their peanut butter/jelly shakes are awesome!

Your son will love Chef Mickey's

How about Tempanyaki at Epcot, for your free day? Your son might enjoy watching the Chef prepare the food. If you like buffets, Cape May at BC can be good and prior to that you could wander over to the Boardwalk and rent one of those surrey bikes to pedal around the Boardwalk. I'm sure he's love to sit up front and ring the bell. After dinner you could wander around the Boardwalk watching the entertainers. Bomas at AKL is also good, plus there you can arrive early, go out onto the Arusha Savanna and he can see the animals. After dinner you could wander out onto Arusha Rock and listen to the African storyteller.

 

[n2mm]

I agree about switching CM to dinner, that was a better choice. I also agree about Tony's.

I would suggest Kona Cafe at the Poly for good food. Also a new favorite for us after our trip last month is the GF Cafe at the GF. Check out the menus on these to see if they are something you might like.

As someone mentioned, you are aware that YSH is a 2TS credit location, just wanted you to keep your numbers correct.

We love the 50s Prime Time and over the years the reviews have gone up and down, but we still continue to visit and the food is still good, but the antics are still fun, but not as crazy as in the past. Still a good choice.

The Coral Reef has become one of our favorite places, even more than LeCellier and getting harder and harder to get. Our last trip 2 weeks ago, the Coral Reef was our top place that we dined at for a 1TS credit. We ate there twice and both meals were outstanding and we had the best servers of every place we went. (Narcossees was our new favorite 2TS locations and even ate there twice because it was so wonderful--especially the filet and lobster--we've never eaten at YSH. We had an ADR last month and canceled so that we could eat at Narcossees again.)

I've used the DDP for the past 5 trips and the only thing I will not use a TS for is breakfast. There are too many places to use them for TS lunch and TS dinner. Good luck, you seem to be on the right track.

 

[smithstation2004]

yeah...we realise it's two credits, but I figured...if we eat somewhere light on our off day (which we probably need to do anyway, what with all the food we have already planned) it will be a ton cheaper than we would have to pay for nice dining like Yachtsman seems to have..and this way we get just one kid free night. The whole vacation otherwise is about them...and we thought we deserved one night to relax and have a NICE meal. If we have to pay for dinner (just ours since we'll have one more TS for our other DS to use that day, right?) then that's still a deal, getting an expensive dinner for basically free with the credits.

*I know, nothing is free. But it's still nice to have it taken care of*

I saw Norcosses (sp) and wondered about it...I'm wondering if it's better than Yachtsman.

And I may switch to CP instead of Tony's now that so many have reccommended it. Thanks! These boards are SO helpful!!

 

[Bama_C]

My 2 cents:

Concourse Steakhouse - ate there last Sept. on FDDP and LOVED it. It was quiet and our server was good. We were celebrating DS's 15th birthday.

Tony's Town Square - never been, but have heard bad reviews lately

Coral Reef - ate there last Sept. and once before. We got caught in a downpour on the way and were soaked to the bone when we got there. Had late reservations and (I think b/c of rain) had to wait an hour before seating. By the time we sat down we were almost dry. Our service was suspect, but the food was really GREAT . It just wasn't the best "experience". However, we are going back this Sept. but have an EARLY ADR! My advice is try to get earlier ADRs whenever possible.

Ohana's - never been but have ADR for this Sept.

Donalds Breakfastsaurus - never tried it

Prime Time 50's - LOOOVVEE this restaurant, even though our last time there we had a server who was not having her best day (Aunt Susan). I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt, they're only human just like me. Everyone has a bad day every once in a while...even at Disney (shhh..don't tell anybody!) Seriously, the food there is very good... fried chicken, meatloaf, shakes, yummy desserts.

Chef Mickey for a birthday breakfast for my DS (he'll be 3) - this will be great, either b'fast or dinner!

Pixie dust to you!

 

[mom2l&t]

I am first timer going in September, too! We have Chef Mickey's booked for breakfast. We are going to celebrate my son turning 5!

We are big breakfast eaters so we are really excited!

Is Mama Melrose a good place? Wanted something italian one night during our stay.

 

[Harlemgirl720]

I am first timer going in September, too! We have Chef Mickey's booked for breakfast. We are going to celebrate my son turning 5!

We are big breakfast eaters so we are really excited!

Is Mama Melrose a good place? Wanted something italian one night during our stay.

I liked Sci Fi Dine In. That would be good for lunch since you don't eat breakfast. Went to Tony's. I found the food to be good. Booked Chef Mickeys instead of San Angel Inn (Epcot). Also booked Boma (AKL), Le Cellier (Epcot), Donalds Breakfastsaurus (AK), Crystal Palace for breakfast (MK), Sci Fi Dine In (MGM) and Tony's Town Square (MK). Any other place I should book instead of Tony's? May be too late now. Had these babies booked since the plan was available to non-visa members on April 12th.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Another choice in December is to have sit down lunches. We are going in September for my parent's 45th anniversary. 7 adults, 2 nieces, 1 will be 3, 1 will be 8.

We are planning a few TS lunches, early seating, with poll and naps planned for after lunch.

Sept is hot. Very hot. (Did I mention it was hot? ) We can't go all day with the heat and the little ones. So we will hit the parks at opening, have a good air-conditioned lunch, then naps/pools, and then back out in the evenings.

CP is a must for us, need to see pooh

Have fun planning!

 

[disneymom2twins]

How about Mama Melrose in MGM so you are still eating Italian? Or, Japan in EPCOT is always a favorite of ours.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Le Cellier would be my first choice for streak, but I think they have been booked solid since about 6 seconds after free DDP was anounced

I think you're right. We couldn't get in last year. And in trying to make plans for this fall, every single night of our trip it is booked solid. They need to get rid of some of the DDP ressies and give the rest of us a chance to eat there at dinner time. I wish they would make it a 2-credit restaurant. That might alleviate some of the logjam.