Booking my Dining Options - Advice welcomed!

[Jade-Elise]

Hi Disney Friends,
I kind of took a break from planning the trip because my head was spinning... is still spinning... and I realise I am SO CLOSE TO 30 days out I better sort my stuff out so we don't miss out.

At first we were just going to do like 1 big restaurant and snack in between, but there are sooooooo many good places to eat and I just love food...

Current Plan
Day 1 DL
Breakfast Crystal Palace
Lunch - Camp Woodchuck (waiting for more info)
Dinner - Queen of Hearts
Snack - Hungry Bear (scrump dumplings!!)

Day 2 DS
Lunch/Snack - Sebations Calypso Kitchen
Lunch/Snack - Cape Cod Cook Off

Day 3 DL
Lunch - Polynesian Terrace for Lilo and Stitch
Dinner - Diamond Horseshoe

Day 4 DS
Lunch - Horizon Bay (characters???)

Restaurants I want to go to but can't fit in...
Pangalactic Pizza Port, Great American Waffle (if Crystal Palace serves waffles no need), Good Time Cafe, Grandma Saras...


I'm not sold, i'm still plugging away at the daily 'guides'. Being first time ever Disney I feel so overwhelmed especially considering 'quiet' is 40k people. (OMG!!!)

Question 1:
This website review showed that Pooh and Friends come to Crystal Palace, but it is old 2014. I've read conflicting reviews about no characters and then having characters. I'm so confused. I thought it would be a good first day experience for us, and Monday is supposed to be the busiest day of our 4 day trip according to the crowd calendar.
Also blogs show the 'chandu tail' and 'mickey waffles' showing up in the buffet. Is this still current?
http://www.charactercentral.net/B36...aracterBreakfastatTokyoDisneylandAReview.aspx

Question 2:
TDR said there is a 'Fantasmic Dining Package' to watch the show from. I've been scouring the Japanese reservation and menu site to find this and cannot. Does this still exist???
http://tdrexplorer.com/dining-guide-to-tokyo-disney-resort/

Question 3:
Horizon Bay, does it actually have characters and when? Again, the website says they do, but no specified characters. Reviews and blogs have reported no actual characters showed up? Has anyone seen them?

Question 4:
When they talk about booking through your 'Disney Hotel' is that only the 'on site' hotels or would that include the Hilton???

Thanks in advance guys! I think i've read so much information I just need someone to talk to about this stuff now.

 

[wanderlust7]

The English restaurant reservation is only for on site hotels (not "official" hotels like the Hilton). There is a Japanese site though that doesn't require a hotel reservation. I seem to recall you have a friend in Japan who can book things for you? Could be remembering wrong....

No first hand experience, but this is what I was able to find out about character dining:

- Crystal Palace is breakfast only. If you look at the menu on the TDR website (in Japanese, but Google translate does an excellent job), it has character breakfast (but no character lunch or dinner):
http://info.tokyodisneyresort.jp/menu/restaurant/26e47ba675e2e08542769e06d58a5570.html
From TripAdvisor photos, looks like the characters are Pooh and Friends.

- Horizon Bay has a character dining section and a non-character dining section. On the TDR website, you'll see it listed twice ("Horizon Bay Restaurant - Disney Character Dining", and just "Horizon Bay Restaurant"). It's also mentioned here:
http://www.disneytouristblog.com/horizon-bay-restaurant-review/

For Day 2 you have two dining shows planned? That's going to eat up a good chunk of your day. You might want to think about just doing 1?

Happy planning!

 

[Agent 86]

I can't answer any of your questions, but I don't see Magellan's, Ristorante Di Canaletto or Teddy Roosevelt's Lounge on your list.

These may not be appropriate if you're travelling with children, but if it's an adults only adventure, then I would strongly suggest visiting these restaurants. If not all of them, but at least Magellan's. The lunch menu is somewhat reasonably priced (and includes all you can eat bread and non-alcoholic drinks like soft drinks and juices). Also, since it's inside, there's no downside to going during lunch instead of in the evening (i.e. the "view" is always the same).

 

[Jade-Elise]

Thanks guys,
Yes valid point on 2 show days on DL day 2... I wasn't keen on diamond horseshoe but my 8 year old was. I would pin Polynesian over the hires how right??

Magellans was on my list then someone told me no to magellans with kids so I am conflicted.

My DS days are empty, maybe a Magellan trip will do it. The reservations are on the day right? No advance booking?

 

[Agent 86]

I think you can make an advance booking for Magellan's if you're staying at a Disney hotel or if you know someone who speaks / reads Japanese and can book through the website.

If you're looking for a lunch reservation, then you should be able to make it on the day provided you head to Magellan's pretty soon after the park opens.

 

[Jade-Elise]

How is this looking???

DL day 1 -
Breakfast: Crystal Palace
(Character - Pooh)
Lunch: Queen of Hearts Banquet Hall

DS day 2 -
Lunch - Magellans
Dinner - Cape Cod Cook Off
(Show Duffy & Friends)

DL day 3
Breakfast - Great American Waffle Company
Lunch - Polynesian Terrace
(Show & Greet Lilo and Stitch)
Dinner - Grandma Sara's Kitchen
(Themed Restaurant)

DS day 4 -
Lunch - Horizon Bay
(Characters Mickey & Friends)
Dinner - Sailing Day Buffet
(Special Christmas Buffet)

Note:
My children tend to eat lots during the day and have small appetites at dinner, so hence Cape Cod at night, and Queen of Hearts at lunch

Question:
How logical is it to do Breakfast at Crystal Palace AND get FP for Monsters Inc? I am looking at the map and wondering if it is too much running about?

 

[BelleBway]

Day2 you have breakfast at TDL and the other meals at TDS. Unless you're staying at one of the Disney hotels (not ones like the Hilton) and you buy a special ticket, you can't park hop on the 1st 2 days of a multi day ticket. Just wanted to point that out.

Also it's kinda hard to get reservations for the Lilo and Stitch show. Just be aware of that. We made reservations in advance and really enjoyed our meal there.

Honestly, I usually only plan 1 meal a day at most and then decide on the others when we're hungry. So I've missed out on a lot of places despite multiple trips, but it works out better for me that way. I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you eat!

 

[Jade-Elise]

Thanks for picking up on that, I had a weird feeling something was out of place! Haha! Waffles will have to be another day (And in reality I was just going to aim for the mini waffles to go!)

This will probably be our one and only trip to Disney for a very long time. We've never been to any Disney park ever so just trying to make the most of it! At first I thought just planning 1, but i've put these out as a guideline (except the ones that need booking). I have a bit of Japanese, and also a friend in Japan helping me with the bookings. I'll be trialing bookings until we get to the day (not confirming) so I know the lay of the land (so to speak). Lilo and Stitch is the big MUST DO so fingers crossed for us!! (We are all big Lilo and Stitch fans <3)

 

[wanderlust7]

I found that I liked the flexibility of the counter service restaurants more than having reservations. We were all the way in the back of the park and had to rush to make our reservation for Oceano (front of the park) and missed out on doing some things. I have regrets about that.

The parks are big, so you'll want to plan out your rides/attractions/shows in relation to your dining reservation. Fastpass return times makes it harder though, but you can use the Japanese crowd calendar to get an estimate of what the return time might be.

I think your Day 1 looks great since Crystal Palace is in the front of the park and you'll be doing that first thing in the morning, so no timing issues. I don't think it'll be too bad getting the Monster's FP (you can just have one person go get them), they're both towards the front of the park. I've read that the food at Cape Cod is not that great, we only went for drinks and dessert. But since no reservations, you can just play it by ear, if you happen to pass by when you want a snack or dinner. Day 4 - if you can bear to , I would cut out one of them since they both take reservations. Maybe for dinner, I think that's harder to schedule in without extra walking due to FP return times being later in the day.

 

[Jade-Elise]

Really good points there wanderlust and I do agree with you.

My main goal for Disney is Shows, Characters, Themed Food/Food with Souvenir Plates/Cups, Attractions and Shopping. (Probably in that order also!)

Day 1 is almost perfect as I have got the first part of the day at Tomorrow Land, then we move to Fantasy Land (according to the advice to get Monsters FP and then Pooh FP)

The rest is still in the works, but I thought I'd plan around them. My biggest concern you have voiced is rushing around to make reservations... I think i'm making more of a guideline and suggestions. I've read SO MUCH INFORMATION that I'd hate to come home and go "Oh no I forgot about XYZ!" I am overwhelmed!

Question
When and where are 'show' times released???

 

[wanderlust7]

I think schedules are released for the entire month sometime in the month before (right now it's through October 31). I'm not sure which day exactly though, I remember I kept checking back.

You may not be able to get both Monsters and Pooh FPs on the same day. Since you need to have used the FP or at least 2 hours have passed, by then Pooh FPs may be gone. The usual recommendation I've read is get Monster's FP and then run to ride Pooh standby. That wouldn't work with your breakfast plan though, Pooh to Crystal Palace would be a LONG walk. When we were there, Pooh standby was sometimes only 30 minutes, so you could just do that later or get FP on your second TDL day. I downloaded an app on my phone that had wait times in English, that was very helpful.

It's impossible to do it all in 4 days. Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers.