Is this too much?

[Metalliman98]

So we're T minus 35 hours from ADRs for our trip. We think we've got everything laid out, but now looking at it in its entirety it may be too much, and I'd like opinions.

Our trip: 3/4 to 3/12, flying to/from CA, me and wife (mid 30s) and 5 yo son. Renting DVC points and staying at Poly. Wife and I went for our honeymoon in '09, this will probably be the only other trip we take for a while since the distance is so great. First time staying onsite. We have hopper and water park and more. No interest in Disney Springs, as we have malls at home.

Here's what our plans look like:

3/4: arrive (plane lands at 5:30 pm) late dinner at Kona, Wishes from the lagoon

3/5: AK at rope drop or close, late morning Tusker House, RoL dinner package if they have it

3/6: Epcot (probably not rope drop), lunch at via Napoli, dinner at Biergarten, walk to DHS for Star Wars fireworks if they have them, otherwise just hang at Epcot.

3/7: Breakfast at 'Ohana, Blizzard Beach/Wintersummer land, mid afternoon go to MK and 7ish dinner at either Liberty Tree or Jungle Canteen

3/8: Rope drop DHS, lunch at Prime Time, cut out around 2/3, drop off son at Lilo's for our date night at Artist Point

3/9: Morning and early afternoon off, MK mid afternoon with Be Our Guest at 5, wishes

3/10: rope drop Epcot, lunch at Coral Reef, dinner at Le Cellier, illuminations

3/11: rope drop MK, cut out for HDDR (unsure if we want 4 or 6 showing), hotel since we have to be on DME at 4 am for our 7 am flight

3/12: fly home

Are we doing too much table service? If so, what would you recommend we cut? Eight nights seemed like plenty of time, but when you actually try to plan it all out and leave time to relax/sleep in, the time goes quick!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Table service for lunch and dinner may be too much food. I know we seldom eat more than one table service a day. And usually we only have one every other day, not every day. You might be able to do one breakfast and one dinner if you really like to eat. But it takes a lot of time from the parks.

Are you doing the Deluxe Dining plan?

 

[aebeauregard]

Personally I wouldn't book sit down lunch and dinners on the same day. I find having ADR times really causes some restrictions on your freedom for the day. Also I enjoy being in the parks and having two sit down meals the same day takes away 2-3 hours of park time. I enjoy one sit down meal a day, especially park days.

 

[Metalliman98]

Table service for lunch and dinner may be too much food. I know we seldom eat more than one table service a day. And usually we only have one every other day, not every day. You might be able to do one breakfast and one dinner if you really like to eat. But it takes a lot of time from the parks.

Are you doing the Deluxe Dining plan?

That's what I was thinking, but there's just so much we want to try, especially at Epcot.

We will be using our reward dollars from our Disney visa for food and souvies, we'll have about two g's worth by the time we go.

 

[DrunkJam]

We can eat, but a sit down lunch AND a sit down dinner is a LOAD of food.
We did one day with a sit down breakfast and a late sit down dinner, and felt full...
It is REALLY hard to narrow down the choice though!!!

 

[bilnsheldodisney]

Personally, I would cut out doing both a lunch and dinner TS in the same day. We usually do a snack lunch - especially at Epcot, there is so much to choose from.

 

[ptlohmysoul]

We do this much. Dh is a big eater. My kids are all picky eaters - they still get plenty to eat throughout the day, but need to eat at least 3x/day. Some days we do sit down for all 3 meals. I vote keep your plans. What you can do is cancel your plans at least the day before (or more for some like HDDR) if you start feeling like it's too much. We may overeat somewhat on vacation, but we're also not used to walking 5-8 miles a day every day at home like we do on WDW vacations.

 

[Metalliman98]

Personally I wouldn't book sit down lunch and dinners on the same day.

We can eat, but a sit down lunch AND a sit down dinner is a LOAD of food.

Personally, I would cut out doing both a lunch and dinner TS in the same day.

So I'm noticing a theme, lol. If we apply this to our current plans, it means we have to cut one meal each of our Epcot days, and a meal on our AK day and DHS/date day. All tough choices.

Would you count an ADR at via Napoli as a full on meal? I mean, it's pizza, right?

We could probably cut Coral.

I'm hesitant to cut a meal for either of the other two. For AK, Tusker is a must (Donald is my and DS favorite) and if RoL is going we want guaranteed seats. For DHS, prime time is the only TS we're interested in, and it's the only date night we've been able to work into our vacation.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Maybe not what you want to hear, but I would cut BOG as I didn't care for their food. I'd also consider cutting Le Cellier (expensive for what you get) and/or Coral Reef (good atmosphere but just so-so food, IMHO).

Pizza could be filling depending on how much of it you eat and what type of pizza it is.

Also if it still feels like too much food then you and your wife may be able to split an entrée at some places.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I would just spread the meals out tmewise. We generally have two regular meals a day and often they are at table service places but lunch will be at 11:30-12:00 and dinner would be more like 7:00. JUst bc its sit down doesn't mean we eat way more food than if we had a QS meal.

 

[goofyintoronto]

That's what I was thinking, but there's just so much we want to try, especially at Epcot.

I hear you on that! Its your trip...your trip is what you want it to be. If you want to eat at 2 restaurants a day and dont mind doing so, then good for you! Im in the same boat. There's so much I want to try, again...as ive been to most places BUT I really like the restaurants at disney. So I couldnt resist and schedule all of those lovely restaurants. My schedule is packed. Most of my days have 2 ADRs. And I love it!

And quite honestly, via napoli for lunch and biergarten for dinner is quite doable in my opinion. Nothing crazy about that at all. Im doing the same thing on my trip this year. via at lunch and LTT for dinner!

 

[GaryDis]

I'm going to go against the grain, strongly.

Book both sit downs according to plan, and then some. Plan to cancel half of them after all the hours and dates are announced. That includes being open to the possibility that you'll keep a lunch and cancel a sit down dinner. This gives you much more flexibility to rearrange your schedule closer to the trip.

This won't guarantee that you'll be able to go all the shows and restaurants you want, but it helps. We canceled SciFi after the SW dessert party was announced and successfully booked. Had it been unavailable that night, we would have kept SciFi and likely canceled some other dinner, using park hoppers.

 

[jimmytammy]

3/4: arrive (plane lands at 5:30 pm) late dinner at Kona, Wishes from the lagoonLove this idea, great way to settle into your resort, hang out, eat and wind down the day with Wishes

3/5: AK at rope drop or close, late morning Tusker House, RoL dinner package if they have itN/O on TH but have read and heard great things

3/6: Epcot (probably not rope drop), lunch at via Napoli, dinner at Biergarten, walk to DHS for Star Wars fireworks if they have them, otherwise just hang at Epcot.Eat lite at VN, share meals, and late dinner at Biergarten will allow for indulging

3/7: Breakfast at 'Ohana, Blizzard Beach/Wintersummer land, mid afternoon go to MK and 7ish dinner at either Liberty Tree or Jungle CanteenAs much as I love LTT, I would say go for Skipper Canteen, that would be 2 huge meals, same day and the price will make you feel the need to over eat at both

3/8: Rope drop DHS, lunch at Prime Time, cut out around 2/3, drop off son at Lilo's for our date night at Artist PointLove 50s, its been awhile since we have eat at AP, but the resort alone would draw me in, eating there would be icing on the cake

3/9: Morning and early afternoon off, MK mid afternoon with Be Our Guest at 5, wishesBOG food, so so, atmosphere is tops, feels like you are in the movie

3/10: rope drop Epcot, lunch at Coral Reef, dinner at Le Cellier, illuminationsN/O on CR, LC is good but a bit overpriced IMO. San Angel, Rose n Crown or even Nine Dragons would draw me in these days over LC

3/11: rope drop MK, cut out for HDDR (unsure if we want 4 or 6 showing), hotel since we have to be on DME at 4 am for our 7 am flightHDDR at 6, perfect time. Lots of fun, good comfort food. For time saving, catch boat to Contemporary, then monorail to Poly after HDDR

3/12: fly home

 

[Disney_traveler]

I would say keep everything. I didn't commit and of the restaurants to memory, but I would recommend to eat just what you want at AYCTE buffets, don't over stuff and then at places where you order, it's ok to split stuff. An appetizer, maybe one plate and one kids meal and a dessert or 2 to share.

 

[CynBeth]

I would keep everything you want. Because a few members of my family have food allergies it is easier to eat at TS for all 3 meals. We space them out a certain way and mix out how heavy or light each is to be and it works out fine.

 

[jesswindsor]

Keep whatever you want. My family usually make 2 table service meals a day. Yes it is a lot of food. We make reservations depending on what park or location we are in or close to. Just remember that it does take time to get from place to place. We enjoy Disney at a very slow pace, so we are not concerned about riding every attraction. Everyone is different. So plan as you wish, and have a Magical Trip!!!

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Have you considered keeping your current plans but splitting some meals at lunch? That way you'd get to try a lot of different foods but would still be hungry enough to eat later in the day. Just a thought, but it might screw you up if you're on DDP. Definitely don't drop Artist Point, Ohana, or Be Our Guest if you do decide to make cuts.

 

[ShannonMB]

We don't usually do 2 TS per day, but that is because and only because we have in the past always used the dining plan. That has been restrictive because you feel you need to get the full entrée and dessert at every meal. You probably won't be able to get the plan anyway because of going DVC/renting points. If you can only make it to WDW once in a blue moon and want to try a lot of those places, nothing keeping you from just ordering light. Sounds like a good time to me!

Have fun planning!

 

[GaryDis]

won't be able to get the plan anyway because of going DVC/renting points.

Tangent alert: It's entirely possible to get a dining plan while renting points, but you'll need to pay for the plan upfront and the owner will have to book it. Rental brokerages will help facilitate it, otherwise you'll need a trustworthy way to arrange getting the payment to the owner.

 

[Metalliman98]

Thanks for the input everyone! I like the idea of booking everything as planned so we have options later, so that's what we'll do in T minus 6.5 hours. I'm hoping we can get everything we want, since we've set up the uber-popular places (minus Tusker) for the tail end of our trip.