First time visit and need help planning meals....

[sarah468]

We are completely stuck about booking our meals! We will be 4 adults, 3 children (3, 4, 6). We'll be there 7 nights, 8 days - and don't even know where to start! I know we want to do at least 2 days at Magic Kingdom, 1 day at Animal Kingdom, 1 day at Epcot, 1 day at the Waterpark, and after that, I don't know. We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge - and have the Deluxe Meal Plan.

Any suggestions of where to start???

 

[RubySlippers]

We just got back and I have to recommend the Cape May Buffet at the Beach Club Resort. We ended up booking a second dinner there during our stay because we really enjoyed it! It is a easy walk from the International Gateway in Epcot.

Ruby

 

[Disney2NJ]

How exciting--your first visit!!! I have two daughters (ages: 4 and 1). We try to do quite a few character meals because that is so unique to Disney. Silly enough...the food actually becomes secondary for us. Also the characters help to keep the baby entertained. Our favorite on is Chef Mickey's (Contemporary Resort). We also ususally book Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) to see the Winnie the Pooh characters and Akershus (Epcot-Norway) for the princesses. We also seem to do better at buffets because everyone in the family can find something they like to eat. With that said, we have rarely had a disappointing experience. I think the atmosphere is magical and the family time is precious. The posters on this board are wonderful. I'm sure they will give you tons of great advice. Good Luck!

 

[sarah468]

Thank you for that! The buffets sound like a great idea - all the kids are picky eaters. Where are the best buffets? And I think we are allowed two character meals with our MP? Which two should we pick? So many questions! I'm finding this quite overwhelming... but so excited!!

How exciting--your first visit!!! I have two daughters (ages: 4 and 1). We try to do quite a few character meals because that is so unique to Disney. Silly enough...the food actually becomes secondary for us. Also the characters help to keep the baby entertained. Our favorite on is Chef Mickey's (Contemporary Resort). We also ususally book Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) to see the Winnie the Pooh characters and Akershus (Epcot-Norway) for the princesses. We also seem to do better at buffets because everyone in the family can find something they like to eat. With that said, we have rarely had a disappointing experience. I think the atmosphere is magical and the family time is precious. The posters on this board are wonderful. I'm sure they will give you tons of great advice. Good Luck!

 

[Hootch]

The Dining tab at the top of the board has a link to the menus for each reaturant. allearsnet.com has reviews for most restaurants under Rate & Review title.

Your kids will probablty enjoy character meals. Crystal Palace (all meal), Liberty Tree Tavern (dinner) and Cinderella's Royal Table (breakfast and lunch) are character meals in the Magic Kingdom. Some ARs are harder to get than others so you may want to make them when you have decided on restaurants. Epcot has a number of very good restaurants for lunch and dinner. Askerhaus has princesses. Biergarten is another good choice with kids because they have music and a dance floor.

There are number of good restaurants in the resorts. Whispering Canyon Cafe is in the Wilderness Lodge and is usually a good time for kids. Ohana in the Polynesian and Cef Mickey's in the Contemporary are also very good.

The most important thing is not to stress too much. Plan your trip and then go with the flow. The trip I least enjoyed (not that that I didn't enjoy it) was when I stressed too much over getting everywhere. There's too much to do in one trip so enjoy what you can do in this one and plan for the next.

 

[Disney2NJ]

I agree with the last posting. I use allearsnet.com for ratings and menus. Try to be flexible because some of the restaurants book quickly. If you are going during free dining in Aug. you could run in to some challenges.

 

[love_mickey]

Thank you for that! The buffets sound like a great idea - all the kids are picky eaters. Where are the best buffets? And I think we are allowed two character meals with our MP? Which two should we pick? So many questions! I'm finding this quite overwhelming... but so excited!!

I have kids( they are 2,6 and 9) my self and did 3 character meals one was chief mickey great way to meet mickey,Donald,Pluto,Minnie and goofy how ever the food was not that great i have a 6 yr old who eats anything and did not like the food and one who is picky eater and he wouldn't even eat after one small bite.Went to 1900's and it was Great kids loved meeting Pooh,Tigger,Mary Poppins,Alice and the mad hatter and they had a great time and even ate everything on there plate The Characters interacted with them my youngest even shared his sausage with pooh lol and pooh rubbed his tummy for him. Loved it am going back there in December! Also Hollywood and vine has Jojo and friends the kids get to dance with them wonderful interaction with the kids there and hugs my youngest chased Goliath down and he played with him i was right behind him trying to catch him but he is a fast little thing lol any way to make a long story short while we was there the lion was with my son and dancing and everything it was wonderful the food was going back there also!! I hope this was a help

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Thank you for that! The buffets sound like a great idea - all the kids are picky eaters. Where are the best buffets? And I think we are allowed two character meals with our MP? Which two should we pick? So many questions! I'm finding this quite overwhelming... but so excited!!

If you have the deluxe dining plan, you could eat at as many character meals as you want. CRT uses 2 credits per person though. The rest of the character meals are one credit.

We love Liberty Tree for dinner. Character interaction is great. Food is good, think Thanksgiving. We also really like Crystal Palace for breakfast. Not sure if you have girls, but a princess meal would then be a must. I only have a son so we avoid those!

We also love Biergarten. Something for everyone, even picky eaters.

 

[dad2t&e]

Get ready for the magic. Take a spin through the boards to see the food porn pictures, there are a lot to see. Use allearsnet.com for ratings and menus and try to be flexible because some of the restaurants book quickly. Make sure you use ADR’s for your meals. I suggest that you spread your meals out as you get an enormous amount, so make sure you don’t book them to close together. Plan your trip and then go with the flow and try not to stress too much. We all love the character meals and the kids love getting the autographs. Our favorite places to name a few are:
Whispering Canyon Cafe is in the (Wilderness Lodge) and is a good time for kids. (B,D)
Ohana in the (Polynesian) with Lilo and Stitch and Goofy. (B,D)
Chef Mickey's (Contemporary Resort). (B,D)
Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom) to see the Winnie the Pooh characters (B,L,D)
Akershus (Epcot-Norway) for the princesses.(L)
Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom) are character meals (D)
Cinderella's Royal Table (Magic Kingdom) (B,L) are character meals
This is just a few of ours. We also seem to do better at buffets because everyone in the family can find something they like to eat. We have not had a disappointing experience yet.