Starting to Panic Please Advise

I have been to Disney many times, but it has been six years since we last went. I had triplets boys in 2009 and they are now seven. We are super excited about our trip to Disney in January, but I'm discovering I'm not as well-versed as I used to be in what Disney has to offer. I didn't even realize you could now book dining reservations six months out. Am I too late for 1/7 - 1/14 time period? What restaurants would you suggest for their age? What Star Wars character dining options are offered? We did Ohana with my four-year-old the last time we went and he LOVED it. Will they be too old for that? They love stitch. Should I try to reserve California Grill for just DH and I? Are child care options still available? Please offer any suggestions. Right now we're staying at Caribbean Beach Resort, but I have a DVC request in for wilderness Lodge. If it goes through we may have to do a split stay with CPR and WL. Can we still get a dining discount, if available, with DVC? Thanks so much!

You have passed your 180 days, but you will still be able to find plenty of ADRs.
'Ohana is always a favorite, but stitch is only for breakfast.
You won't be able to get a dining discount if you rent points, that's only if you have a package. You can add the dining plan, but it won't be at a discounted rate.

Sci-Fi Dine-In in Hollywood Studios is pretty cool and usually enjoyed by boys.
What about other character meals with Mickey and the crew? Chef Mickeys, Tusker House?

I like to use www.allears.net to browse menus before making decisions.

You have plenty of time. I've never booked 180 days out and always got what I wanted.

Would your boys like Whispering Canyon? Lots of rowdiness and fun there. Trails End is great too and they can run and play around the campground.

I don't believe there are any Star Wars character dining options.

You should be fine. I made ADRs for Mid Jan just this week and was able to get Ohana, Be Our Guest lunch, Tusker, Akershus etc (party of 4).

Thanks all for the suggestions! Is Askerhus where you meet Frozen characters? I'm surprised they had don't have a Star Wars dining option. The problem with the DVC at wilderness Lodge is it was only available for three nights right in the middle of our seven night stay. I went ahead to book it because it seemed like such a great deal at the time, but now I'm not so sure. How would we do the dining discount, if available, if we are at CBR 2 nights then have to move to WL for the 3 nights DVC, then sadly back to CBR or similar for our last 2 nights. Could we still get the dining discount the four nights we are not at WL DVC? I should've thought this through before I told her to book it and I still haven't heard back if it's even available.

When you search for available meals, keep in mind you can select "breakfast" or "lunch" or "dinner" instead of a specific time, so if you are flexible on meal times that will give you the most availability when you search. I was curious about availability during the times you said you would be traveling, and it looks like there is still lots that you could book, even for Be Our Guest which is a sit down meal but it is just a quick service credit (unless you go at dinner time, which is a table service credit). BOG has great food and is very popular so I'd highly recommend you try it. We also like the character meal at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, and the Fantasmic dinner package (Mama Melrose is just one credit and has good food; Hollywood & Vine is also one credit and I think it's a character meal but Disney Jr. characters so maybe your boys won't be into that at their age. Hollywood Brown Derby is 2 credits so we usually avoid it).

Ohana is tough to get a reservation, but my boys love it. Breakfast is the only character meal, but the food is pretty good. We really like the food at Ohana dinner and they have a bit of meal-time entertainment. Try the lapu-lapu at the bar! They are pricey but an awesome rum drink served in a pineapple.

You may have trouble getting a California Grill reservation, but if you are DVC members you could always go to the lounge at the top of the Bay Lake Tower to watch the fireworks. They pipe in music just like California Grill and it's family friendly. Don't forget your DVC IDs (needed to get in). There is also a new member lounge in Epcot and you would need your ID for that. (Not clear if you own or are just renting DVC points...)

If your boys are into Star Wars, Hollywood studios has a Jedi Training thing where your kids could be on stage and "train" as a Jedi. It is SUPER popular so if you do this, you should plan to be at HS at least 30 minutes before "rope drop," make sure you know exactly where you are going, and walk there as fast as you can to sign up the boys. i think they need to be with you when you sign up.

You can book fastpasses 60 days before your trip if you are staying at a Disney property. Fastpasses are loaded on your magic bands (different from the paper passes of the past). There is an app that you can use if you have a smartphone to track all your dining plans and fastpasses.

If you have trouble getting the reservations you want, keep checking periodically - especially just before 60 days (in case people are offloading extra meals that they booked to make room in their schedule for fastpasses), a week or two before your trip, and a couple of days before. Last minute cancellations happen all the time.

Thanks for all the helpful info. They would love the Jedi training. I've been to California Grille before so it's ok if we don't make it this trip. We are not DVC members. We were just renting points as a more affordable option to stay at WL.

have2getaway said:

I have been to Disney many times, but it has been six years since we last went. I had triplets boys in 2009 and they are now seven. We are super excited about our trip to Disney in January, but I'm discovering I'm not as well-versed as I used to be in what Disney has to offer. I didn't even realize you could now book dining reservations six months out. Am I too late for 1/7 - 1/14 time period? What restaurants would you suggest for their age? What Star Wars character dining options are offered? We did Ohana with my four-year-old the last time we went and he LOVED it. Will they be too old for that? They love stitch. Should I try to reserve California Grill for just DH and I? Are child care options still available? Please offer any suggestions. Right now we're staying at Caribbean Beach Resort, but I have a DVC request in for wilderness Lodge. If it goes through we may have to do a split stay with CPR and WL. Can we still get a dining discount, if available, with DVC? Thanks so much!

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First just breathe... Its a lot to take in at once.

For me personally, I would just stay in one location, you will be loosing a lot of time with all the moving around. I am assuming that you will be in 2 rooms at CBR ( family of 6 right?). You might want to think about AoA, in a family suite. I suggest this as you will still get 2 bathrooms, and a kitchenette which might be nice with 4 boys to feed, it has a microwave and 2 TV's. But above all you have a bedroom door for some privacy for mom and dad. With the pull out couch and pull down bed. The kids will love sleeping on either, My adult DD ( 5'9") slept on the pull down a had plenty of room and it was quite comfy. Lion King is our favorite, the resort is so fun, 3 pool and the food court is great.

As far a ADR ( Dinning Reservation) go ahead and get started, we are going the very end of January for my DGS 2 birthday and 1st trip to see Mickey. I already have all the ADR's made. You should be able to get what you want. Also spend some time researching what QS - Counter service so when you get ready you will have an idea of what it offered. Nothing worse than getting the kids on board with eating, and then there is nothing that you really like.

Magic Kingdom - Crystal Palace is a character buffet with Winnie the Pooh and Gang all kids young and old love Pooh. We have enjoyed all 3 meals here and service never has been lacking. We think that they offer a good mix of adult and kid food. Be Our Guest is one of the most popular places to dine, but for us it's dinner all the way, plus the beast is in the castle at night for a photo op. and the grey stuff....and cupcakes who doesn't like cup cakes my favorite is the lemon one... and wine with dinner is great offering. Ray's (QS) is a easy spot lots to choose from, 3 bays with different options, you could divide and conquer.

Animal Kingdom - Tusker House or Rain Forest( there are 2 - 1 at Disney Springs and 1 at Animal Kingdom) this is our go to. Pizzafari they have some good options, Flame tree Barbecue is another favorite, they have larger portions and you might be able to share, and save credits for other meals.

Hollywood Studios - Sci-Fi is a must, while a TS (Table Service credit) is really a burger and milkshake spot... with that said really good milkshakes. This is one you might want to pay for out of pocket and save your TS credit for another meal. It is so well done inside... and the kids say COOL. We don't really like the QS options so we normally go to a resort close by boat and check out the resort and Food Court. Or get a buffet somewhere before heading into the park.

Epcot -Lots and lots of great eats here, just see what country would best suit your family.


Make your fast passes when the window opens, keep in mind your ADR's for that day when doing all the planning.

I have the Disney app on my phone and use it constantly when we are there. Easy way to keep up with what's going on, and you can make adjustment as need ( if available) also look at wait times. This is a must have for me.

Above all just take a look around and inhale all of what Disney has to offer, at your kids face's and watch the wonder of magic unfold for them and you. So amazing.

have2getaway said:

Thanks all for the suggestions! Is Askerhus where you meet Frozen characters? I'm surprised they had don't have a Star Wars dining option. The problem with the DVC at wilderness Lodge is it was only available for three nights right in the middle of our seven night stay. I went ahead to book it because it seemed like such a great deal at the time, but now I'm not so sure. How would we do the dining discount, if available, if we are at CBR 2 nights then have to move to WL for the 3 nights DVC, then sadly back to CBR or similar for our last 2 nights. Could we still get the dining discount the four nights we are not at WL DVC? I should've thought this through before I told her to book it and I still haven't heard back if it's even available.

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Akershus has the princess dining but Frozen characters are not included. As of right now there are not any dining options to meet those characters.

When you say "dining discount." I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to. Do you mean buying the Dining Plan? That's not so much a discount as pre-payment of dining. On a DVC rental, you get no Disney discounts; your transaction is actually with the owner of the timeshare. You can buy the Disney Dining Plan, but on a split stay that may end up fairly complicated for you as the credits attach to each stay. So you would have three Dining Plans, with availability and rules on their use attached to each individual stay (CBR-WL-CBR).

There are no Star Wars or Frozen character meals. They do have several Meet & Greets with characters from those franchises that are not dining experiences.

Just start looking and booking.

Fwiw, our first trip was 6 years ago and dining was book able at 180 days out then.

I figure you're talking about the dining plan? Have you made sure it works for you? 3+ boys at that age can do some damage at a buffet, so if they are big eaters you might want to maximize that sort of meal. But the dining plan doesn't work for every family; we just don't eat in a way that matches how the plan works, for instance.

bbak30 said:

You won't be able to get a dining discount if you rent points, that's only if you have a package. You can add the dining plan, but it won't be at a discounted rate.

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The dining plan, if used right, IS a discount from paying OOP. But you have to strategize, and IMO you need to eat how you would want to eat, instead if changing it because of the plan. If you eat in that way and would pay OOP, it can be a discount.

LovesTimone said:

First just breathe... Its a lot to take in at once.

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Thank you! Yes, it really is. I have done this before, but so much has changed, I feel like I'm learning it all over again. My older son will not be staying with us on this trip. He is actually going to Disney/Universal with his Dad, but we do expect to see him while there. We needed a room for myself and husband, and the 3 younger boys. We liked the suite idea at AoA, but didn't want to spend so much on a room if we weren't going to be in it much. We just went to Hershey Park and were literally never in our room. Do they ever over specials on the suites?

Oh, and thanks for all the feedback about the DVC rental. I canceled our request as it has not been fulfilled yet. I could handle moving once, but twice is too much, and we really want to do the dining.

It's not that you can't on a DVC rental, it's that especially with how you'd need to manage it, it would probably be a lot of bother for you.

I am not sure what dining discount you are referring to.

I would figure out your park days and just start booking things.

I just got back from a short trip earlier this week. We decided to go after 180 mark. It was fine. I feel like I got all the reservations I wanted.

If you want a Fireworks option besides Cal. Grill. You could book a late dinner as well at Narcosee's. Food was out of this world and we viewed the Fireworks from a Window table with dessert. Be aware you might depending on crowd have to go out to the deck if there are a lot of people there.

As for ressie's. we were there late July to early Aug. Made most of reservations day of and did not have that much problem. It was only wife and myself and seating for 2 so that may have made it easier. I would try to plan at least a few in advance.

have2getaway said:

Thank you! Yes, it really is. I have done this before, but so much has changed, I feel like I'm learning it all over again. My older son will not be staying with us on this trip. He is actually going to Disney/Universal with his Dad, but we do expect to see him while there. We needed a room for myself and husband, and the 3 younger boys. We liked the suite idea at AoA, but didn't want to spend so much on a room if we weren't going to be in it much. We just went to Hershey Park and were literally never in our room. Do they ever over specials on the suites?

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At CBR does not sleep 5, not unless you get a roll away bed (extra charge). Over at POR they you are able to get a room for 5, without paying extra for the roll away bed, with 5 people in one room for that long might push someone over to the dark side... also.. January has normally lower rates around 300 plus or minus, this option just gives you some extra room for a 7 night stay, Plus 2 bathrooms which would be worth it to me. Also what if your older son decided that he wants to stay with you, this way you would be prepared either way. Seeing what fun he is missing with you might bring on the I want to stay with you's. Which I would be prepared for.... Been there done that..

While you won't be in your room long there are a lot of what ifs, what if someone gets sick, this way its easier to keep who ever sick away from the others. Also while in the room everyone has some space, and privacy.

Check out which Disney dinning plan is the best for your family.

QSDP - I have friends that only do the QSDP which is 2 QS meals a day, plus 2 snacks with a mug per person per day, and then they pick 1 or 2 TS meals to pay OOP for. This works for them.

DDP - Is 1 QS and 1 TS per person per night, 2 snacks and a mug. If you are a TS service family this might be the best way to go so you can enjoy character meals, and dessert with dinner.

DXDDP - This is a lot of food 3 TS( appetizer, entrée and dessert is included) or QS ( your choice) 2 snacks and a mug, per person per day. We go this route with our family we think that dinning is part of the vacation experience, and we love have everything paid for in advance. We normally do a character breakfast, QS stop for lunch and TS for dinner. We went this route for our upcoming trip in January for our DGS 2nd birthday and 1st trip.

Tips with using the dinning plan:

Entitlements ( credits) are good from the moment of check in to 12:00 midnight on departure day. So if you want to plan around you can have enough for breakfast on departure day.

Tips and Adult beverages are not included with the plan. Budget accordingly. - Also some place add in gratuity of 18 percent on parties of 5 or 6.

You can also get creative with sharing meals to make your QS entitlements and snacks work for you. There are some large portions at some of the QS that could easily be shared between all of you. Especially if your boys aren't big eater. Some times its better to pay oop for a extra side then use a whole meal that will go to waste. Then use that entitlement later on.

Snack credits aren't just for dessert which for some reason a lot of people just go this route, but you can get yogurt, Danish's, muffins and using your mug for coffee and other drinks in the food court. Look for the Snack credit emblem. Here is where doing some homework will pay off knowing the menu. Check here and over on Allears comes in handy.

You might want to think about ordering from garden grocer some basic supplies.. Water, soda, snacks, sunscreen, pop tarts/ breakfast or granola bars. Bread and peanut butter and jelly or ramen soup. My DD's would all of a sudden be starving when they got back to the room, this would fill them up and it is familiar/comfort food. You can bring some of these thing with you.

bumbershoot said:

Just start looking and booking.

Fwiw, our first trip was 6 years ago and dining was book able at 180 days out then.

I figure you're talking about the dining plan? Have you made sure it works for you? 3+ boys at that age can do some damage at a buffet, so if they are big eaters you might want to maximize that sort of meal. But the dining plan doesn't work for every family; we just don't eat in a way that matches how the plan works, for instance.



The dining plan, if used right, IS a discount from paying OOP. But you have to strategize, and IMO you need to eat how you would want to eat, instead if changing it because of the plan. If you eat in that way and would pay OOP, it can be a discount.

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I agree with this 100%. You are getting a discount by renting points, just in a different way. And I am a fan of the dining plan, at least I was before my DD turned 10, but I agree that it makes you change the way you eat. Our next trip will be without he DDP and I'm actually looking forward to not having any restrictions.

LovesTimone said:

At CBR does not sleep 5, not unless you get a roll away bed (extra charge). Over at POR they you are able to get a room for 5, without paying extra for the roll away bed, with 5 people in one room for that long might push someone over to the dark side... also.. January has normally lower rates around 300 plus or minus, this option just gives you some extra room for a 7 night stay, Plus 2 bathrooms which would be worth it to me. Also what if your older son decided that he wants to stay with you, this way you would be prepared either way. Seeing what fun he is missing with you might bring on the I want to stay with you's. Which I would be prepared for.... Been there done that..

While you won't be in your room long there are a lot of what ifs, what if someone gets sick, this way its easier to keep who ever sick away from the others. Also while in the room everyone has some space, and privacy.

Check out which Disney dinning plan is the best for your family.

QSDP - I have friends that only do the QSDP which is 2 QS meals a day, plus 2 snacks with a mug per person per day, and then they pick 1 or 2 TS meals to pay OOP for. This works for them.

DDP - Is 1 QS and 1 TS per person per night, 2 snacks and a mug. If you are a TS service family this might be the best way to go so you can enjoy character meals, and dessert with dinner.

DXDDP - This is a lot of food 3 TS( appetizer, entrée and dessert is included) or QS ( your choice) 2 snacks and a mug, per person per day. We go this route with our family we think that dinning is part of the vacation experience, and we love have everything paid for in advance. We normally do a character breakfast, QS stop for lunch and TS for dinner. We went this route for our upcoming trip in January for our DGS 2nd birthday and 1st trip.

Tips with using the dinning plan:

Entitlements ( credits) are good from the moment of check in to 12:00 midnight on departure day. So if you want to plan around you can have enough for breakfast on departure day.

Tips and Adult beverages are not included with the plan. Budget accordingly. - Also some place add in gratuity of 18 percent on parties of 5 or 6.

You can also get creative with sharing meals to make your QS entitlements and snacks work for you. There are some large portions at some of the QS that could easily be shared between all of you. Especially if your boys aren't big eater. Some times its better to pay oop for a extra side then use a whole meal that will go to waste. Then use that entitlement later on.

Snack credits aren't just for dessert which for some reason a lot of people just go this route, but you can get yogurt, Danish's, muffins and using your mug for coffee and other drinks in the food court. Look for the Snack credit emblem. Here is where doing some homework will pay off knowing the menu. Check here and over on Allears comes in handy.

You might want to think about ordering from garden grocer some basic supplies.. Water, soda, snacks, sunscreen, pop tarts/ breakfast or granola bars. Bread and peanut butter and jelly or ramen soup. My DD's would all of a sudden be starving when they got back to the room, this would fill them up and it is familiar/comfort food. You can bring some of these thing with you.

Click to expand...

This information is incorrect. CBR has rooms which sleep five, the same as POR. Two queen beds and the pull down trundle.

Wow, thanks for all the information! I guess we never considered just doing QS plan. I was worried it wouldn't be enough food for DH. I also liked the idea of doing some of the character meals.

FreeDiningFanatic said:

This information is incorrect. CBR has rooms which sleep five, the same as POR. Two queen beds and the pull down trundle.

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Yes, this is new. They only just recently upgraded the rooms at CBR to include pull down beds. We liked the idea of a suite, but really wanted to be at a moderate resort more.