Christmas week ADR master plan...?

[apple5]

We are going to the WDW for the 4th time!
Last time we went was 1 and half year ago and it was so hot to the point I got so sick and taken to the emergency room.

So this time around, we are going in the winter!
We need to deal with crowded parks but better weather and magical holiday atmosphere I think. So we will go and see if we like it!

We are family of 5 (Myself, DH, DS 14,10,8). Because of what happened last time, my husband is worried that I get sick or tired easily and suggested we have place to rest. DH is really particular about eating at TS meals and made me book almost every meal...

Last time we went, I booked a lot of resort hotel restaurants and it took too much time to get there (we ended up using taxi a lot). So this time, we want to go on Theme park restaurants or somewhere near our hotel which is Epcot area.

So here is my ADR between Dec 24th to Jan 1st. (followed by disney cruise)
It's our first time for many restaurants...

Day1 Biergarten
Day2 Kouzzina, Le Cellier (candle light), Bistro de Paris
Day3 Chrystal Palace, California Grill
Day4 Tusker, Yuk and Yetti, Shaula
Day5 Hollywood vine, Mama Melrose (fantasmic),'50 Prime Cafe, Sci-Fi
Day6 Cape May, Les Chef France, Be Our Guest
Day7 Tusker, Flying Fish
Day8 Cape May, Teppan Edo, Bluezoo
Day9 Chrystal Palace, Tokyo Dining, Boma

You have no idea what I had to do to get the reservation for Be Our Guest...it was the toughest. None of my family members are into princess themed restaurants but BOG will be a great dining experience for all of us for sure!

My husband and I are going to the gym everyday for 6 months now.
I lost 25 pounds and he lost 80 pounds. I think we might gain pounds back if we go to all these restaurants. But it doesn't matter, it's my vacation!
Or we just cancel some of the reservation when we get there...

Let me know if you have recommended menu or some "must eat" item on the menu!!

 

[Fantasmiss]

Have I misunderstood, or are you going to 4 restaurants on day 5? If so, you might literally only have time to eat and go between restaurants that day.

I love food and eat a lot, but 2 TS in one day is the most I'll do. Also, '50s Prime Time is in my opinion not great, so I'd cancel that.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

You have to many TS reservations to do in one day. I have been there and done that and it isn't possible to do. Are you on the deluxe dining plan because that makes it even worse! It's just so much food you can't eat anymore. Not to mention there isn't enough time in the day to go to all those restuarants. A better plan would be 2 TS meals a day; either a breakfast and then an early dinner or a lunch and a later dinner. Also, you have a lot of credit card hold reservations and if you do not go to them, you will be charged $10 per person if you do not cancel within 24 hours of the reservation. I would definately rethink your plan.

I just noticed you plan to go on a cruise after eating at all of these restaurants. Wow! No offense but that is just nauseating. I don't think I would be able to look at food again. That's like 2 weeks of over indulgences. And since you are both losing weight, your stomach actually has shrunk so you will not be able to eat as much as you think.

 

[SignMeUp]

I don't know how far apart your ADRs are, but you do have quite a bit of traveling to do to get from one place to another.

I'm guessing you're not on a dining plan, just because of your ADRs at Shula and Blue Zoo (those are not on Disney Dining Plans). Not that it matters, just want to make sure that you're aware of that in case you are on the DDP. If you're not on the DDP, you can eat lighter than those on the DDP by just getting apps and skipping desserts. And it may be nice to have all these ADRs to have places to escape the crowds that week .

I thought your schedule made sense (except for the 4 restaurants on your Hollywood day?) until Day 6:

Day6 Cape May, Les Chef France, Be Our Guest - You're going to hop from Epcot to MK, okay
Day7 Tusker, Flying Fish
Day8 Cape May, Teppan Edo, Bluezoo
Day9 Chrystal Palace, Tokyo Dining, Boma - this is a LOT of travel: MK to Epcot to AKL?? Plan an hour to get from one place to the next, plus at least an hour to eat.

Remember that TS meals can easily take an hour and a half and that doesn't include travel time to get to the restaurant or time spent waiting to be seated after you arrive at the restaurant. You can easily spend 2+ hours at each of your meals. If you have an 8am character breakfast buffet and a noon lunch scheduled (I don't know if you do), you would be done with your breakfast and stuffed from the buffet by 9:30-ish. Will you really be ready to start heading to your lunch ADR just ~2 hours later?

 

[Specter]

While the foodie in me would love to have reservations like that, getting to try a bit of everything, I know from experience that it is tough to squeeze in more than two table service meals in a day even if they are in the same general area, let alone if they are spread out across the various parks/resorts.

I personally found that what one of the previous posters said worked well for my family; we would have a table service breakfast and dinner, and have a quick lunch that was usually much lighter. That still allowed us time to take a break in the middle of the day and sit down just long enough to recharge before we were off again. But with the time that table service meals can take, and the fact that you won't always be seated at your exact reservation time(particularly at that time of year), and then the travel time from place to place you are really going to cut deeply into your time in the parks themselves. If it were me I would look at cutting things to two meals a day, whichever two you feel like keeping, and then cancel the rest and plan for shorter, counter service meals to fill in the gaps.

 

[apple5]

I appreciate everyone's feedback.
Last time we went to WDW, we were on DDP and there was no way we could used them all (even with 2 points restaurants) and had lots of left over points at the end. Also we don't eat a lot in one meal so ordering drink, apps, main, dessert were just too much.

So this time, we are not using dining plan. My DH said he will be ordering just appetizer or light meal and I will do the same and no dessert.
We don't drink soda but stick to water. More than likely some of my kids will go breakfast with me or my husband depending on who can get up early. So we may only go to the dinner as all 5 of us.

We will pick the morning theme park and eat there. I am hoping to get to the restaurant before theme park open time and stay there and do all the rides in the morning and leave after lunch and rest at the hotel for 4-5 hours every day.

And we will have dinner near the resort or theme park we want to go at night and stay till 10pm or so. If we stay at the theme park till midnight, then next day we will get up late and eat late breakfast.

I also kind of thought booking different places with the option for some of my family member getting up late or want to go in the different group. Some will stay up late but some of us will go back hotel and rest.

For example, I want to get to the them park first thing in the morning with my oldest child but my husband will get up late and get there with my youngest and have some place to eat, etc. Too much thinking, right?!!
As long as part of the party I booked showed up, we will fulfill our ADR. However, as you mentioned, we should still cancel some place a day before or so because it is a risk. I will figure out once we get there and see how crowded or tired everyone is. Because you are all right. There is no way we can spend this much time eating!

Basically, I totally agree with your opinion of booking breakfast and dinner and eat snack in between.
That is most realistic plan, in my opinion.

Once again, thank you for your opinion.
Please let me know if you have any recommended items on the menu!!!

 

[apple5]

I have been checking ADR like everyday...
I think I will cancel some of my reservation, especially lunch.
Currently, I try to schedule breakfast (7-8am), lunch (12-1pm), and dinner(6-7pm) and someday I did breakfast at 11am and dinner at 6pm.

Here is the reason why I booked these restaurants.
Although I don't care for buffet now,kids like the character dining and love breakfast buffet for some reason.
But if I must cancel any of these places, I need to think about which one is worth going and which one is not...


Biergarten (I don't know if I like the food there but my DH loves German food and we have never tried here so worth check out the place once?)

Kouzzina (First time. It seems like I will find something I like on the menu.)

Le Cellier (We usually try to go every time we are at WDW.)

Bistro de Paris (I have some sentimental memory to this place but kids don't care much about it.)

Chrystal Palace (characters and food, advantage to get in the park early)

California Grill (We ate here last time and really liked it.)

Tusker (characters and food, advantage to get in the park early)

Yuk and Yetti (1st time. Menu is interesting.)

Shaula (1st time. Between Yachtsman and this place, I was not sure if it is worth the money.)

Hollywood vine (characters and advantage to get in the park early)

Mama Melrose (For Fantasmic package this place was one of the choices)

'50 Prime Cafe (I don't know if I like the food there. But I want to check out inside.)

Sci-Fi (I can't find anything I want to eat on the menu. But kids saw the picture of it and wanted to go once. Maybe we get a shake...)

Cape May (characters, food, we always go at least once on our trip to WDW)

Les Chef France (I just love the atmosphere there.)

Be Our Guest (I don't know what to expect but want to see inside.)

Flying Fish (We liked it before, relaxing atmosphere.)

Teppan Edo (1st time. I need to have some Japanese food during my trip.)

Bluezoo (Seafood)

Tokyo Dining (New Year's Day at Japanese restaurant would be fun)

Boma (We are renting a car and leaving for Coco Beach hotel stay. Last meal at WDW and doesn't have to be Boma, but I just couldn't come up with anything good...)

It is hard to make perfect reservation since DH, DS and I have different taste and opinion about where to eat. But I need to really narrow them down to 2 meals a day to be safe from being charged penalty.
My husband still thinks we stick to this plan. But I am worried about not making it to all these restaurants.

Since my ADR is set for now, I need to simulate what our everyday activity will be like in each theme park. Then I will realize what is possible and what is not.
Then again, even when I have master plan of daily schedule, there is always something unexpected happening like last time. Out of 2 weeks, I was sick and stuck at the hotel bed for 1 week!!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Biergarten (I don't know if I like the food there but my DH loves German food and we have never tried here so worth check out the place once)

I would keep this reservation since it is something new and your DH likes the type of food. I have never eaten here though so I don't know how it is.

Kouzzina (First time. It seems like I will find something I like on the menu.)

Another restaurant I have never eaten in but the menu looks interesting and since it is something you would like, keep it.

Le Cellier (We usually try to go every time we are at WDW.)

I don't know what time your reservation is but if it is a late lunch with enough time after Kouzzina, I would keep this reservation as Le Cellier is great and I noticed you have the candlelight package. If possible, switch Kouzzina breakfast for another day but definateky keep this for lunch.



Bistro de Paris (I have some sentimental memory to this place but kids dont care much about it.)

This restaurant will no longer be Bistro de Paris. It is under construction will be a brand new restaurant with a new menu and look. I don't know if that affects your decision to keep this ADR but thought you should know. We have a reservation here but like surprises.

Chrystal Palace (characters and food, advantage to get in the park early)
I love this buffet. I would def keep this ADR


California Grill (We ate here last time and really liked it.)
We don't really like this restaurant. I haven't eaten here since 2007 but we weren't impressed. But if you like it, keep it as you only have 2 ADR's this day and they work well with MK.


Tusker (characters and food, advantage to get in the park early)
I have never eaten here but breakfast buffets are awesome to start the day.


Yuk and Yetti (1st time. Menu is interesting.)
I don't know how you can eat at Tusker House and then here, but we love Yak and Yeti! DH loves the Kobe burger and I love the ahi tuna salad


Shula (1st time. Between Yachtsman and this place, I was not sure if it is
worth the money.)
We never ate here. The menu looks good but seems too sophisticated for our young children. Are you staying at the Swan & Dolphin for Christmas? That is where we are staying 12/25-1/1. Considering this is a big meal, you may be too full from lunch and dinner.

Hollywood vine (characters and advantage to get in the park early)
We love Hollywood and Vine. My kids are addicted to Disney Junior. Again, can't go wrong with breakfast buffets.


Mama Melrose (For Fantasmic package this place was one of the choices)
We were going to do this too but we are Italian and Mama Melrose is like the Olive Garden to us. I much rather eat at Tutto Italia, Portobello, Via Napoli or Il Mulino. But if you want the Fantasmic package, then it's good for what it is.

'50 Prime Cafe (I don't know if I like the food there. But I want to check inside.)
This place just isn't what it used to be. When it first opened, the waitstaff was hilarious. They really got into their mom/dad role. But it hasn't been that way the last two times I ate here. And on our trip in May, my mom, dad, brother and I all got sick after eating here. However, the PB&J shakes are an absolute must. You don't even have to dine here to get one, you can see the atmosphere and order a shake to go at the Tune In Lounge next door.

Sic-Fi (I can't find anything I want to eat on the menu. But kids saw the picture of it and wanted to go once. Maybe we get a shake...)

This place was awesome years ago when they gave popcorn. And it might be scary for young kids. But the atmosphere is cool, however, the food is not.


Cape May (characters, food, we always go at least once on our trip to WDW)
We haven't eaten here for breakfast but will on our upcoming trip. However, dinner is always good.

Les Chef France (I just love the atmosphere there.)
I think you have too much French for one day lol. But this is a must do restaurant for us.

Be Our Guest (I don't know what to expect but want to see inside.)
I would skip Chefs and just eat here.


Flying Fish (We liked it before, relaxing atmosphere.)
Never ate here but the menu looks good.


Teppan Edo (1st time. I need to have some Japanese food during my trip.) This is a fun restaurant but it's long. If you want some Japanese, why not try the quick service or have the Sushi at the Polynesian at the Kona Island Sushi bar? it's quick and it's so yummy!here.

Bluezoo (Seafood)
Never ate here but maybe you want to skip Teppan Edo and just eat here.


Tokyo Dining (New Year's Day at Japanese restaurant would be fun)
I love this place much better than Teppan Edo.


Boma (We are renting a car and leaving for Coco Beach hotel stay. Last meal at WDW and doesn't have to be Boma, but I just couldn't come up with anything good...):

I love Boma. It's a great buffet.



I put my recommendations in red.

 

[apple5]

Thanks for your opinion and great info!
It really helped me think about what I want and I am so glad I posted at DIS. (I have been reading every possible post to gather info since 6 months ago!)

What you say really make sense and I didn't even know about Bistro de Paris renovation. That is fantastic surprise to me. It said they will be less formal setting...so it is fun for my kids...I can't wait to be there!

I need to rethink about Prime time and Sci-Fi. Great tip for Prime time, I never knew you can still check inside ordering drink...

I also think my kids are not into stake so much and maybe do Cape May dinner instead of Shula. I love seafood but Bluezoo might be too much...

Doing French in a row is a joke, right? I had tried different combination but haven't completed the master plan yet...I still have 2 months to figure out.
I thought about doing Teppan Edo or Tokyo dining instead of French but I really wanted to save those restaurant for New Year Eve and New Year Day.

We are staying at Swan/Dolphin too. It's our 1st time. We stayed at Poly and Yacht last time and loved both. But at Christmas time, they were just too high and we found really good deal for Swan/Dolphin. I got great deal for Epcot Fireworks view!

I initially thought about going budget and bring suitcase full of food and even the small rice cooker to make rice ball for breakfast everyday in the hotel room. Because my boys gets hungry all the time, I should bring some emergency snack anyway...

On the other hand, my husband tells me not to bring the rice cooker because we are on vacation and should be eating good stuff and I shouldn't be preparing meal for anyone (he is nice). He works so hard and we haven't taken a nice family vacation in a long time so he thinks this is our chance to be soaked in non ordinary, magical place and just really relax and enjoy as much as we can. He doesn't want me to waste my time doing laundry neither while we are on vacation. But I am traveling light and not keeping everyone's dirty laundry in my room too long!

My kids mainly wants to do all the rides while my husband rather be at the resort or nice restaurant talking with me. I will see how I can accomplish both at WDW in Christmas time...parks will be crazy busy. But it's worth trying once and see if this might become our annual family vacation.

Thank you so much!! Thank you everyone!!

 

[apple5]

Since I had posted, I did some thinking and made some changes, thanks to those who made suggestion...

So now my ADR looks like...


Day1 Biergarten
Day2 Le Cellier (candle light), Bistro de Paris
Day3 Chrystal Palace, Bluezoo
Day4 Tusker, Flying Fish
Day5 Mama Melrose (fantasmic),Ohana
Day6 Teppan Edo, Be Our Guest
Day7 Tusker, Cape May Cafe
Day8 Chef de France, Epcot Fantasia2000 Buffet (New Year's Eve)
Day9 Chrystal Palace, Garden Grill

I reduced my ADR to 2 times a day!
Lot's of Character buffet still due to high demand from my kids.

I so look forward to Bistro de Paris renovation and find out new menu.
I dropped HS restaurants and going Ohana (going MK for magic hour).
Be Our Guest is exciting. No more 2 French in a row.

And I got Epcot Fantasia themed Buffet on New Year Eve.
I saw this thread yesterday and DisneyFansInLINY posting about it.

So I called the ADR on the phone. But reservation person said, "I don't think we have something like that." She checked and checked but didn't see it on her reservation system. So I called later in the evening and got another agent. This time, I was told that they used to have it but not having it this year and it's not in reservation system... Odd.

So I called again right before reservation closes and got this super nice guy, Jeff. He said he will check with manager, etc and took about 5 min to search on reservation system. He said it is available but I was not ready to have my CC charged then. So I told my husband about it and he really wanted to do this. There is absolutely no dinner reservation available for Epcot on New Year's Eve. So this it the best chance we got to have nice dinner at Epcot.

So I called first thing in the morning, like 5am.
I got this lady answer and she says they are not taking reservation yet because her system is not letting her book it. What?! So it was booked all between the time of closing and first hour of this morning?? I didn't get it.
I told her that some people already booked this buffet and she didn't believe me. She said check back. I told her the information is on people's blog and on posting, etc. Then...she says, then it must be booked full already. She didn't know when it started taking reservation, etc and she was frustrated. So I hung up on the phone. But I just didn't understand why out of 4 agent, only Jeff got availability and some agent didn't even know about this or able to pull the system up. I mentioned about last night conversation with Jeff. But she said he didn't know what he was talking about...really?!

Did I give up...?? Of course not.
So I called AGAIN.
This time, I got this lady who knows about this dining event.
She found me a the time I wanted. It's $60+ but including tip and tax.
She let me book my 9 year old under children's price although other agent said 9 and up is adult price. I got the conformation number and location and now we have somewhere to sit down and enjoy for Epcot New Year Eve!!!

 

[apple5]

By the way, she said this event is between 4:30pm-10?pm and only 100 group can be booked. So it's like 10 groups every 30 min checkin? It is supposed to be just really wonderful Fantasia 2000 theme.

I don't know why they don't put this event on official web site. I didn't get menu neither. I only saw last years menu from other web site. It looked really good. But I am not sure if this year menu is as good as last year. They said MahiMahi was the seafood...no more lobster and seafood pie?!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Your reservations look great! I cannot believe they gave you such a hard time booking the Fantasia buffet. I guess I got lucky when I called and had a reservationist who knew what I was talking about. Perhaps our families will run into each staying at the same hotel and eating at the same restaurant for New Years Eve. My reservation is at 7:30pm. What time did you get? And since I critiqued your reservations, please feel free to do the same for mine

Dec. 23- 8:00pm Crystal Palace

Dec. 24- 10:05am Cinderella's Royal Table
4:00pm Fulton's Crab House
9:10pm Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party (DH's birthday cake lol)

Dec. 25- 11:35am Chef Mickey's
5:00pm La Hacienda de San Angel (8:15pm candlelight procession package)

Dec. 26- 12:20pm Hollywood & Vine
5:25pm Hollywood Brown Derby

Dec. 27- 10:35am Akershus
4:25pm Le Cellier

12/28- 11:30am Via Napoli
5:50pm Chefs de France

12/29 12:30pm Tutto Italia
5:45pm Bistro de Paris(whatever it will be)

12/30 10:25am Cape May Cafe
4:50pm Be Our Guest

12/31 12:30pm Yak and Yeti
7:30pm Epcot World Showcase Fantasia 2012 New Year's Eve Dinner

 

[apple5]

Wow! Your ADR looks really good!
I would love to comment on your ADR...

Dec. 23- 8:00pm Crystal Palace
I used to think the first day is more like resort day or visit other hotel restaurant but kids can't wait to get to the theme park and my DH say it has to be at the theme park restaurant! So it is co cool you are going to Crystal Palace and I would do the same if we are not arriving late. I did Breakfast before but this time trying for lunch. I am curious what the dinner is like at CP. Do you like their dinner menu or are you going mainly the character experience and location??

Dec. 24- 10:05am Cinderella's Royal Table
I am dying to go there once. I don't know if my boys feel uncomfortable. But I will try one of these days! Food must be good too, kind of like BOG??

4:00pm Fulton's Crab House
I've been wanting to go there so long. But my kids are not really into seafood and had mix review online. I guess depending on if you know what to order, right? What is your favorite dish there??

9:10pm Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party (DH's birthday cake lol)
I seriously thought about this. In fact every time I get to go, I seriously want to do this once for the best seat!! But I just wasn't sure after reading some of the reviews. But for special occasion, it will be great and I might actually do this is there is any opening. Especially the Christmas time, the park will be packed and this is wise to secure the good spot to watch!!

Dec. 25- 11:35am Chef Mickey's
My kids love this place. It is hard to get the reservation here! For this trip, I focused much for theme park because of the mass crowd and traveling time, etc so not really fit into my schedule. Have you done dinner here? Is dinner good too?!

5:00pm La Hacienda de San Angel (8:15pm candlelight procession package)
My DH loves Mexican and he would love it.Our reservation is at Cellier at 12pm lunch with candlelight 5pm. I wish I can switch to later time but it was one of the limited options.

Dec. 26- 12:20pm Hollywood & Vine
This is my first time going to this place and we are doing breakfast but I was wondering if lunch and dinner is better?

5:25pm Hollywood Brown Derby
This is the type of restaurant my husband would love. But I checked the menu and didn't know if my kids and I could pick things we like. There was still ADR available for HBD lunch with fantasmic package and trying to decide if I should switch from Mama Melrose to Brown Derby. If you have gone there before, what is your favorite menu?

Dec. 27- 10:35am Akershus
This is another place I am dying to go! I need to make my boys go with me once! I think the food here is really good according to the review...

4:25pm Le Cellier
It is a must go place! My DH loves it. my 14 year old is not into stake but I believe they have great cheese burger or something, right?

12/28- 11:30am Via Napoli
My DH is part Italian and he loves Italian. But because we are both on the fitness thing right now, we though avoiding pasta and carbs. But I am sure they have more than pasta and pizza. If we pick only one Italian, which one would you choose, Via Napoli or Tutto?

5:50pm Chefs de France
Although I order the same thing everytime, the inside and the view from the window just makes me feel like we are in Paris. Although I usually don't do much desert, I love desert here!What is your favorite dish here??

12/29 12:30pm Tutto Italia
I think I went there long time ago. I don't know if this is more formal Italian than the other place? My husband loves it and now seeing your ADR, I feel like I should book some Italian!

5:45pm Bistro de Paris(whatever it will be)
I am telling you the truth, the same reservation agent who didn't know about the Fantasia Buffet said they are going to keep the same name and menu after the renovation. Can you believe it? I said to her that the information is on the OFFICIAL WEB SITE! And she said she is 100% sure they are the same name after the renovation. I need to take over the reservation department and train some agents!!

12/30 10:25am Cape May Cafe
I love this place because this place is quieter and character takes time to interact, it seems. Out of all the character buffet, I like their food for some reason. This time we are trying the dinner here and hoping everyone find something they like.

4:50pm Be Our Guest
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am so glad you got this place! I wish I could get in Dec 30 or 31 as well but I guess I should be happy with my 29th at 7pm. I mean I don't have much choice... Your ADR is early dinner but it will take some time to dine and you could always get great snack at MK if you get hungry later on. Are you staying till the end? Since MK do the same countdown fireworks (I read at somewhere) on 30th, I think it is good idea to be at MK in Dec 30th and Epcot in 31st.

12/31 12:30pm Yak and Yeti
I see good review at this place. What is your favorite menu or want to try menu?

7:30pm Epcot World Showcase Fantasia 2012 New Year's Eve Dinner
Yey! I am so glad that I read your post because otherwise, I had no clue of this amazing event. At the other thread, someone posted the detailed menu and it was SO MANY buffet items and I am excited to try few things!

By the way, I get craving for good Sushi sometimes and I heard Kimonos at Swan is one of the best sushi place in Orlando. But when I called the hotel, they said they don't take reservation, just walk in. I am kind of glad that we are in Swan/Dolphin because otherwise I will never be able to visit.

I will be walking around along with millions of people during that time. If you see this Asian lady with Italian looking husband and 3 boys, that's me!! Our reservation at Fantasia Buffet is at 7:50pm. So you might run into me. I will be walking around the seafood area!!

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Wow! Your ADR looks really good!
I would love to comment on your ADR... Thanks!

Dec. 23- 8:00pm Crystal Palace
I used to think the first day is more like resort day or visit other hotel restaurant but kids can't wait to get to the theme park and my DH say it has to be at the theme park restaurant! So it is co cool you are going to Crystal Palace and I would do the same if we are not arriving late. I did Breakfast before but this time trying for lunch. I am curious what the dinner is like at CP. Do you like their dinner menu or are you going mainly the character experience and location??
We are going for the character experience and to be at MK since it is opened until 1:30am. I havent had dinner here before but have had lunch and we liked it. We are getting into Orlando at 1:15pm and plan to run errands, check into the hotel, rest and the head to the park for a late night.

Dec. 24- 10:05am Cinderella's Royal Table
I am dying to go there once. I don't know if my boys feel uncomfortable. But I will try one of these days! Food must be good too, kind of like BOG??
I have never eaten here because we didn't like the menu but the breakfast menu seemed decent. And since it's Christmas Eve, we thought it would be a nice way to see the princesses and beat the crowds. I think they give boys a sword and they get to be surrounded by beautiful princesses lol. Maybe that would make them like the idea of eating there?

4:00pm Fulton's Crab House
I've been wanting to go there so long. But my kids are not really into seafood and had mix review online. I guess depending on if you know what to order, right? What is your favorite dish there??
We havent eaten here before. We had reservations for our last trip but didn't get to go because DD refused to leave MK lol. My sister ate here on her honeymoon back in 2006 and said it was the best meal she ever had. We are looking forward to the crab and lobster. Christmas Eve is DH's birthday so he picked this restaurant. We are Italian and so a traditional Christmas Eve dinner is fish. So this place is perfect. And they serve macaroni and cheese which is DD and DS' favorite food.

9:10pm Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party (DH's birthday cake lol)
I seriously thought about this. In fact every time I get to go, I seriously want to do this once for the best seat!! But I just wasn't sure after reading some of the reviews. But for special occasion, it will be great and
I might actually do this is there is any opening. Especially the Christmas time, the park will be packed and this is wise to secure the good spot to watch!!Yes, it is a great way to beat the crowds. I think you can get 12/30 if you call the reservation line. It can't be booked online but I saw posts that others got it by calling.

Dec. 25- 11:35am Chef Mickey's
My kids love this place. It is hard to get the reservation here! For this trip, I focused much for theme park because of the mass crowd and traveling time, etc so not really fit into my schedule. Have you done dinner here? Is dinner good too?! We only eat breakfast here as I have heard dinner is terrible. It is a must do for every trip. My kids absolutely love it. And we like the food. This is actually a special Christmas brunch menu. I would have liked an earlier reservation or a later dinner reservation but it was all I could get.


5:00pm La Hacienda de San Angel (8:15pm candlelight procession package)
My DH loves Mexican and he would love it.Our reservation is at Cellier at 12pm lunch with candlelight 5pm. I wish I can switch to later time but it was one of the limited options.You are so lucky to have gotten Le Cellier! We wanted it but it wasn't available. However, I am so happy to have this reservation as I checked for weeks until I was able to get it.

Dec. 26- 12:20pm Hollywood & Vine
This is my first time going to this place and we are doing breakfast but I was wondering if lunch and dinner is better?I haven't had dinner here in years. But it isn't a character dinner and I just read bad reviews about it so breakfast or lunch is the way to go. My kids only watch Disney Junior all day long so they can't wait to see the characters. We went to lunch years ago and it was good. I liked the tuna.

5:25pm Hollywood Brown Derby
This is the type of restaurant my husband would love. But I checked the menu and didn't know if my kids and I could pick things we like.
There was still ADR available for HBD lunch with fantasmic package and trying to decide if I should switch from Mama Melrose to Brown Derby. If you have gone there before, what is your favorite menu?We haven't eaten here before. My sister did and liked it. It's the only other TS restaurant we would eat at HS so it was this or go back to Epcot/resort area. But I want to stay for extra magic hours that night.

Dec. 27- 10:35am Akershus
This is another place I am dying to go! I need to make my
boys go with me once! I think the food here is really good according to the review...This is also a must do breakfast for us. We haven't eaten lunch or dinner here though so I don't know how it is. But years ago, before it was the princess buffet, I ate here for dinner. I was a child so I didn't like it because I remember they served venison (deer) and most kids don't like that lol. However, they do not serve this anymore.

4:25pm Le Cellier
It is a must go place! My DH loves it. my 14 year old is not into stake but I believe they have great cheese burger or something, right?I think lunch has a cheeseburger. I read that on here. I only ate dinner here so I don't know how lunch is. However, I'm sure it is great as this restaurant is great. I'm not sure if my kids will like it but since I could only get an early reservation, we can always get them something else. But I don't eat meat, only fish and I like it.

12/28- 11:30am Via Napoli
My DH is part Italian and he loves Italian. But because we are both on the fitness thing right now, we though avoiding pasta and carbs. But I am sure they have more than pasta and pizza. If we pick only one Italian, which one would you choose, Via Napoli or Tutto? We love this place. It is another must do for us. If you only want one place, maybe try Tutto so that have a fish option instead of pizza and pasta. I am always on a diet but I could never cut out my carbs. Besides you are on vacation, a few carbs are necessary to give you the energy you need to get through the day


5:50pm Chefs de France
Although I order the same thing everytime, the inside and the view from the window just makes me feel like we are in Paris. Although I
usually don't do much desert, I love desert here!What is your favorite dish here??I like the lobster bisque, macaroni and cheese and creme brûlée. But I'm thinking I might try something different after looking at the pics on here lol


12/29 12:30pm Tutto Italia
I think I went there long time ago. I don't know if this is
more formal Italian than the other place? My husband loves it and now seeing your ADR, I feel like I should book some Italian! It was a different restaurant when you went if it was a long time ago. It was called Alfredos and I miss it so much. This is the first time we will be eating at Tutto since I am finally ready to give it a try lol. We are Italian and DH's mom is an Italian chef. We both feel the menu looks good and it has good reviews so I would suggest making the ADR here for your DH.

5:45pm Bistro de Paris(whatever it will be)
I am telling you the truth, the same reservation agent who
didn't know about the Fantasia Buffet said they are going to keep the same name and menu after the renovation. Can you believe it? I said to her that the information is on the OFFICIAL WEB SITE! And she said she is 100% sure they are the same name after the renovation. I need to take over the
reservation department and train some agents!!
Wow! That reservationist is so misinformed. And a few others are just as misinformed. I think Disney should know about this as I too have been given false information 3 times. 1) a reservationist told me that even if the park closed due to max capacity, I would still get in if I had a prepaid reservation. Which i found out is completely false. 2) the Tables in Wonderland card works on holidays. This is also false and is stated in the FAQ section of tables in wonderland website. 3) that there were no other times available for an ADR I wanted besides 8:35am and then when I checked the website, there were numerous times available and I got the after 10am spot I wanted.

12/30 10:25am Cape May Cafe
I love this place because this place is quieter and character takes time to interact, it seems. Out of all the character buffet, I like their
food for some reason. This time we are trying the dinner here and hoping everyone find something they like.We have always eaten dinner here, never breakfast. The dinner doesn't have characters but the food is very good. However, this trip it is just the breakfast for the purpose of the characters sand lazy morning day lol.

4:50pm Be Our Guest
Yes! Yes! Yes! I am so glad you got this place! I wish I could get in Dec 30 or 31 as well but I guess I should be happy with my 29th at 7pm. I mean I don't have much choice... Your ADR is early dinner but it will
take some time to dine and you could always get great snack at MK if you get hungry later on. Are you staying till the end? Since MK do the same countdown fireworks (I read at somewhere) on 30th, I think it is good idea to be at MK in Dec 30th and Epcot in 31st.I didn't want an early ADR but like you, I am just happy being able to get a reservation. We are planning to go to MK around 4pm so we can last through the night as they are open until 3am!

12/31 12:30pm Yak and Yeti
I see good review at this place. What is your favorite menu or want to try menu?We love this restaurant. DH loves the Kobe beef burger and I love their Ahi tuna salad. The saki is pretty good too!


7:30pm Epcot World Showcase Fantasia 2012 New Year's Eve Dinner
Yey! I am so glad that I read your post because otherwise, I had no clue of this amazing event. At the other thread, someone posted the detailed menu and it was SO MANY buffet items and I am excited to try few
things! I am excited for this too. Especially going into the World Showcase restuarant as it's only open for select events. Definately a great way to spend NYE.

By the way, I get craving for good Sushi sometimes and I heard Kimonos at Swan is one of the best sushi place in Orlando. But when I called the hotel, they said they don't take reservation, just walk in. I am kind of glad that we
are in Swan/Dolphin because otherwise I will never be able to visit. We stayed at the Dolphin in May for DH's conference. It was great and we are looking forward to staying here again in December. We didn't eat at Kimonos but we love sushi and were thinking about trying it. But DH and I are ADR people and since you can't make a reservation, we didn't include it in our to do list. But maybe we will end up here at some point. I believe they have take out so that is another possibility.

I will be walking around along with millions of people during that time. If you see this Asian lady with Italian looking husband and 3 boys, that's me!! Our reservation at Fantasia Buffet is at 7:50pm. So you might run
into me. I will be walking around the seafood area!!

Ok I will look for you lol our reservations are only 20 minutes apart and I have 2 kids, a 5 year old and a 1 year old. Which means I do have to eat fast but not in 20 minutes lol. I will be at the seafood area as well as the dessert table and my kids will be eating all of the mac and cheese lol


I put my comments in dark red

 

[apple5]

Cape May Cafe, Chrystal Palace, and Boma have been my best breakfast experience so far (for Buffet). Especially Cape May Cafe Breakfast is a must do for me. I love their costumes and good interaction with kids.

By the way, I got up 4 am this morning and called the reservation and see if they still have Dec 30th dessert party. And they did!!!
I was going to camp out at MK for the 30th but now I get to sit down and enjoy the dessert and watch wishes!

The price was like $44 adult and $25 child or something like that. But the agent charged my 14 year old child price I can't wait to see my kids face when we walk into the dessert party for the 1st time! Happy Sugar High!! the agent lady said to me.

 

[apple5]

And...I din't know Christmas time is more expensive not just hotel but even some of the buffet restaurant and even Fireworks dessert party! But I guess it make sense. I don't want to find out what the difference...because I feel like we are overcharged...which we may be.

 

[apple5]

I will not tell my DH we pay extra at the Christmas season. But I think he knows it too.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

Cape May Cafe, Chrystal Palace, and Boma have been my best breakfast experience so far (for Buffet). Especially Cape May Cafe Breakfast is a must do for me. I love their costumes and good interaction with kids.

By the way, I got up 4 am this morning and called the reservation and see if they still have Dec 30th dessert party. And they did!!!
I was going to camp out at MK for the 30th but now I get to sit down and enjoy the dessert and watch wishes!

The price was like $44 adult and $25 child or something like that. But the agent charged my 14 year old child price I can't wait to see my kids face when we walk into the dessert party for the 1st time! Happy Sugar High!! the agent lady said to me.

That's great! We also made a reservation for 12/30 dessert party at 10:30pm