Can I Have Some Dining Advice?

[drj898]

I'm surprising my girlfriend for her birthday to a trip to DW in July. I'm also planning to propose. But anyways, I'm hoping we'll have a memorable and romantic vacation. I made all my ADR's already, but I was hoping you guys could tell me what you think, and if I should change any restaurants or anything. And also, based on what/where we'll be eating..should we use a dining plan? And if so...which one? Base or Deluxe?? I was going to pay OOP, but maybe I'm making the wrong decision.

Oh..one more thing...we'll be staying at AKL, club level...so we might just grab a few bites to eat in the club lounge here and there...Idk..just thinking. Anyway, here goes:

Day 1: Arrive, dinner at Raglan Road in DTD.
Day 2: QS Breakfast OR in-room breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at Mama Melrose.
Day 3: Crystal Palace breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at Cali Grill.
Day 4: QS Breakfast?, lunch at 50's primetime, dinner at Ohana.
Day 5: QS Breakfast?, CS Lunch, dinner at Tutto Italia.
Day 6: Tusker House breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at either Boma or Jiko (what do you think?)
Day 7: Probably a nice Boma breakfast before our early flight.

Thank you so so so much!!

 

[steeners81]

First have a good time, I just got engaged in Disney in January and it was awesome.

Second as far as DDP vs. OOP. your best bet is to try and figure out how much you would spend at each place and see if it is worth it. For us we love appetizers and are not huge fans of desserts so its not worth it.

Day 4 I would just try to make sure your reservations are pretty far apart for lunch and dinner because you get alot of food at both places.

Day 6 I have heard great things about Jiko and enjoyed Boma. Have you looked into Sanaa instead of Jiko or Boma? We really enjoyed it there, though the food was wonderful and you can request a table near the window where you can watch the animals.

 

[MacFam4]

Congratulations on the planned proposal What a wonderful memory! I'll try to help a little on your restaurant choices:

We had dinner at Raglan Rd. back in 08....great meal!!! We all really loved our meals and desserts. We wanted to see the band and dancer, who I believe started playing at 9pm, so we made like an 8:30 ressie. We were originally seated in an area away from the stage, so we asked to move, and were accommodated with no problems. So if you want to see the entertainment, plan a late ressie.

We've had both breakfast and lunch at Crystal Palace. Very good food and good character interaction.

Had lunch at 50's Prime Time during out '10 trip...it was perfect for us because we were hot and tired and some comfort food was exactly what we needed! The meatloaf was delicious, and my hubby loved the pot pie. My son and I shared the huge brownie dessert, yummy! We also ate there one year on Thanksgiving Day.

Dinner at 'Ohana...we were so full I thought they were going to have to roll us out of the place. So good!!! It's very loud in there, so be prepared.

Tutto Italia...never eaten there but we have a ressie for Sept.

We have eaten dinner at Boma twice. Super good food. The food is different, but not weird. Even my kids loved it. Try the carrot ginger soup!!! Never eaten breakfast there but I hear it's very good.

As for the dining plan, you'll gets lots of different opinions. When we visit with the whole family (myself, hubby, and two boys, one of which is a teenager), we get the dining plan. When just my younger son and I visit, we do not because we don't eat that much. What I do like about the dining plan, is you can get any entree you want and not have to worry about the price. Do you like dessert? If you know you'll both be ordering dessert, I say go for it. We don't do the DxDP because it's just too much food for us, and we don't want to be tied down to that many table service meals. There's actually some very good counter service places, such as Tangerine Cafe, Columbia Harbor House, Sunshine Seasons, etc.

Hope this helps!!

 

[drj898]

First have a good time, I just got engaged in Disney in January and it was awesome.

Second as far as DDP vs. OOP. your best bet is to try and figure out how much you would spend at each place and see if it is worth it. For us we love appetizers and are not huge fans of desserts so its not worth it.

Day 4 I would just try to make sure your reservations are pretty far apart for lunch and dinner because you get alot of food at both places.

Day 6 I have heard great things about Jiko and enjoyed Boma. Have you looked into Sanaa instead of Jiko or Boma? We really enjoyed it there, though the food was wonderful and you can request a table near the window where you can watch the animals.

Ooooohh...I gotta check out Sanaa...and I was just thinking too: "I wonder if you can see the animals out the windows of either of the 3 restaurants..." lol

I already made my ADRs for all those places...I didn't really go nuts to make Ohana's time anything too specific because seeing Wishes isn't a priority on that day. I wanted to make Cali Grill's ADR early so we can run back to MK to see Wishes up-close. We need to. I haven't seen it since 2004, and she hasn't seen it since she was like 10.

And us too!! We're huge appetizer people too...we almost never order dessert. I think I'm just going to go OOP.

Thanks!

 

[minnie mum]

I like your restaurant selections and think you will really enjoy them. I also agree with your decision to go OOP. Especially since you will be staying club level- your breakfasts are pretty much taken care of there, as are resort snacks and drinks.

All of the AK TS restaurants are good- we've eaten at all of them several times. I agree that you might want to take a closer look at Sanaa for something a little different, but Jiko is also great (one of our favourite signatures.)

 

[OhThePain]

Good luck on your upcoming proposal trip. I actually proposed to my now fiancee this past October while staying CL at AKL.

We personally don't care at all for some of your choices. However, I'm not the type who normally tries to talk people out of an ADR. Just because we hate it doesn't mean you will. With that being said there are 2 things I insist you must look into since you are staying CL at AKL.

The first is the Sunrise Safari. It is only available to AKL-CL guests. You meet with the group early in the morning and head over to AK. You take an extended ride on KS before the park opens. Normally the ride runs about 18 minutes, on the Sunrise Safari we were out there for a little over an hour. After the safari ends, you have a buffet breakfast at Pizzafari. The cost is about $65 per person, but it's a cool experience that not everyone gets to have.

The second thing to look into is the Wanyama (Sunset) Safari, which is available to all AKL guests. This was hands down the best experience we have had at WDW. The maximum amount of people that can go on the safari is 12 and I am pretty sure that all guests must be 8 and over (unless someone rents out the whole thing). You meet at about 3:45 at Jiko and head out to your safari vehicle. The tour is guided by someone who works on the savannahs at AKL. The tour is very intimate and really gets up close to the animals (a giraffe actually stuck it's head into our safari vehicle). You travel around all 4 savannahs at AKL and learn about the animals that you will see from the resort. If you have a nicer camera that isn't just a point and shoot, this is a great chance to use it. After about 90 minutes or so on the savannahs, you head back to Jiko for an absolute feast. You get an amuse bouche, 2 bread services that are shared with the table, 3 different appitizers served family style (2 plates for the table), 3 different entrees also served family style, 3 dessert samplings served individually, wine pairings, soda and coffee. The chef comes out and talks about each dish as it is being served to you and the service is on top of everything. While it is far from cheap, it was unbelievable and worth every penny. I think it ran about $190 per person including tax and tip. It is a great experience if you are looking for something to really knock her off her feet.

 

[drj898]

Ohthepain...thank you soooo much. Sunset safari is kinda out, but sunRISE is a strong possibility. Thanks everyone!

 

[OhThePain]

Ohthepain...thank you soooo much. Sunset safari is kinda out, but sunRISE is a strong possibility. Thanks everyone!

Understandable about the Wanyama... it's quite the splurge (but it gives you a reason to stay at AKL again in the future ). The Sunrise Safari was a really nice experience. Many of the animals are out a bit more in the morning before the park opens. There were some areas where we stopped for a good 10 or so minutes to get some pictures and for the guide to talk about the animals and answer any questions people may have. We even got a picture or 2 of the lions being more active than they usually are, got to watch about 4 cheetas running and playing and even got to see the warthogs. You get to see a little bit of the backstage area as well. The breakfast was a pretty nice buffet spread as well. It's given twice a week and you will need to use a park admission to get in (they scan your tickets before leaving AKL). Even though it does cost extra, it's a really nice perk for staying AKL-CL and is well worth it, IMO. It can only be booked through AKL-IPO, so let them know you are interested and they will tell you what days it is available durring your trip.

 

[drj898]

Understandable about the Wanyama... it's quite the splurge (but it gives you a reason to stay at AKL again in the future ). The Sunrise Safari was a really nice experience. Many of the animals are out a bit more in the morning before the park opens. There were some areas where we stopped for a good 10 or so minutes to get some pictures and for the guide to talk about the animals and answer any questions people may have. We even got a picture or 2 of the lions being more active than they usually are, got to watch about 4 cheetas running and playing and even got to see the warthogs. You get to see a little bit of the backstage area as well. The breakfast was a pretty nice buffet spread as well. It's given twice a week and you will need to use a park admission to get in (they scan your tickets before leaving AKL). Even though it does cost extra, it's a really nice perk for staying AKL-CL and is well worth it, IMO. It can only be booked through AKL-IPO, so let them know you are interested and they will tell you what days it is available durring your trip.

I booked the Sunrise Safari for Sunday morning, and made THAT day, our day in AK, with Ohana at night up in Poly.

Anyways, here's my dilemma: I'm having serious doubts about Tutto Italia for dinner after our day in Epcot. As long as we're back over to the WS in time for Illuminations, that's all that matters.

Here's what I'm down to...and I need your advice!
1) La Hacienda
2) San Angel
3) Le Cellier
4) Yachtsman
5) Nine Dragons
6) Marrakesh
7) Tutto Italia
I know its a lot...but honestly...I'm all confused and I have seven options! lol

Thanks again!

PS: Ok...add in Rose & Crown too.

 

[OhThePain]

I'm glad you decided to go with the Sunrise Safari.

If you are going to be paying OOP, and are willing to leave EPCOT for dinner head over to Shula's at the Dolphin. They have the hands down best steaks on property. I wouldn't waste my time or money at YS or LC if Shula's is an option.

If you would rather stay in EC, I would go with either SAI, Biergarten (which I know wasn't on your list, but I would suggest that over most other WS restaurants). Both have pretty awesome atmospheres and the food at both is pretty good. Biergarten has a lot of options, even for picky eaters.

 

[vicb]

DH and I had a lovely dinner at San Angel Inn very recently, however you do need to slow them down a bit. We ordered our drinks, debated appetizer then placed that order, when that arrived we ordered our dinner and we were still done in just over an hour. It was a hot day and we enjoyed the cool temps inside and the night atmosphere.

Boma vs. Jiko here is my .02 .... Boma was great for breakfast and Jiko was really nice for dinner. Jiko was the quietest dinner we had in terms of restaurant noise. It was very peaceful and pleasant. The food and service were very good.

We got very lucky at Cali Grill, as a party of 2 they first tried to seat us at this random table that was practically in the walkway. We were very nice and asked if we could wait for a better table, we did not ask for a table on the windows but that was what we ended up with. It was amazing and very special. We did watch a few other couples reject that same table as well before it was finally accepted. Never hurts to ask nicely.

Tutto was under major construction 2 weeks ago, not sure when that will reopen. We had good lunch experiences at Via Napoli and Rose and Crown.

Best wishes to you both!

 

[AugustDisney]

I booked the Sunrise Safari for Sunday morning, and made THAT day, our day in AK, with Ohana at night up in Poly.

Anyways, here's my dilemma: I'm having serious doubts about Tutto Italia for dinner after our day in Epcot. As long as we're back over to the WS in time for Illuminations, that's all that matters.

Here's what I'm down to...and I need your advice!
1) La Hacienda
2) San Angel
3) Le Cellier
4) Yachtsman
5) Nine Dragons
6) Marrakesh
7) Tutto Italia
I know its a lot...but honestly...I'm all confused and I have seven options! lol

Thanks again!

PS: Ok...add in Rose & Crown too.

I haven't been to all of those, but we LOVE Yachtsman. My fiance said we HAD to do it again after our trip in August.

 

[Feisty Fairy]

I'm surprising my girlfriend for her birthday to a trip to DW in July. I'm also planning to propose. But anyways, I'm hoping we'll have a memorable and romantic vacation. I made all my ADR's already, but I was hoping you guys could tell me what you think, and if I should change any restaurants or anything. And also, based on what/where we'll be eating..should we use a dining plan? And if so...which one? Base or Deluxe?? I was going to pay OOP, but maybe I'm making the wrong decision.

Oh..one more thing...we'll be staying at AKL, club level...so we might just grab a few bites to eat in the club lounge here and there...Idk..just thinking. Anyway, here goes:

Day 1: Arrive, dinner at Raglan Road in DTD.
Day 2: QS Breakfast OR in-room breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at Mama Melrose.
Day 3: Crystal Palace breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at Cali Grill.
Day 4: QS Breakfast?, lunch at 50's primetime, dinner at Ohana.
Day 5: QS Breakfast?, CS Lunch, dinner at Tutto Italia.
Day 6: Tusker House breakfast, CS lunch, dinner at either Boma or Jiko (what do you think?)
Day 7: Probably a nice Boma breakfast before our early flight.

Thank you so so so much!!

May a add a suggestion and maybe instead of 'Ohana do Coral Reef at Epcot as it is more romantic. Or if you can afford it Artist Point is really nice. And on the dining plan situation with what you have here you would need at least the deluxe dining plan or you will still be paying out of pocket for one meal a day.

50s, Crystal and California Grill are awesome pics I loved them.

Some other notable restaurants are Kouzzina and Le Celliar.