Please critique my plans so far....

[mlsa80]

I am traveling with my husband, 11 y/o daughter, and 5 y/o daughter. We have the ddp as we wanted to do a show and a lot of character dining for my 5 y/o. This is our first time to Disney and I have been learning as I go....I just need some feedback of our schedule so far....

Sat, Oct 18th---Arrive to Disney!!! 6:15 Hoop De Doo

Sunday, Oct 19th---Magic Kingdom
1:35 Crystal Palace for Lunch
7:30 O'hana
Note: Park closes at 7:00 for MNSSHP

Monday, Oct 20th--Hollywood Studios
8:45 Hollywood and Vine for breakfast
3:30 Mama Rosa's Fantasmic Package for late lunch

Tuesday, Oct 21st --Animal Kingdom
1:30 p.m. - Rainforest Café for lunch
Not sure what to do for dinner--open for suggestions!!!!

Wednesday, Oct. 22nd-Magic Kingdom
1:30 BOG for lunch
8:30 Cinderellas Royal Table for late dinner
(Surely we will be done by the time fireworks start???)

Thursday, Oct 23rd-Day of Rest/MNSSHP
10:30 - Brunch at Cape May
Not sure what to do for dinner before MNSSHP (maybe just a quick dinner in Magic Kingdom??)

Any thoughts??????

 

[kboo]

For your AK day, I'd suggest Tusker House for lunch if you can. The food is better, it's unique, and it's in the back of the park. To go to RF Café you'd have to go all the way to the front of the park for lunch and then dive back in. Alternatively, do a breakfast at RF Café and then dinner at Tusker House. Not sure what time AK closes that day, but when we were there last summer we did a dinner reservation at 7pm and we had all the rides to ourselves from 5:30-7, very personal service at dinner, and then walked out to a completely empty park. (there was a bus waiting to take us back to our resort - felt like a private shuttle in both directions!)

 

[mlsa80]

Thank u so much!!! I am definitely up in the air about that day and I think you have a much better plan now to see if I can get an ADR!

One thing---will there for sure be a bus to take us to the resort if we leave late??

 

[lizard1]

I think your reservations are too close together on Sunday and Monday. I know if I ate a buffet lunch at 1:30 where I may not leave the buffet until 3, I would definitely not be hungry for dinner at 7:30 (only 4 hours later), much less for an all you can eat dinner. Same for the H&V and MM the next day. I agree with the other poster about eating at TH instead of walking to the front of the park for Rainforest Cafe. I would maybe not schedule a dinner that day if you are planning a late lunch.

When we visit WDW, we usually eat a small breakfast (cereal, bagel, etc.) then we plan a late lunch. Usually we aren't hungry enough to eat anything for dinner.

 

[mlsa80]

I guess my thought was my 5 y/o doesn't eat much at one sitting (she is more of a snacker) so she will get hungry quicker and my oldest right now is growing like a weed and literally eats me out of house and home! lol. Magic Kingdom closes at 7 on Sunday (10/19) and I really wanted to eat at Ohanas, but had nowhere else to fit it in. I figured even if we don't eat a ton of food, it will still give us something fun to do that evening.

As far as my Hollywood studios day---I had to go with a 3:30 reservation to MM to get the fantasmic package. I think it will be fine if we don't eat lunch at a "normal" time. honestly I think my kids will have to have something when we get back to the resort for a late night snack/dinner.

We changed to Tusker House in Animal Kingdom for lunch, great suggestion!(I'm glad its a character dining--more bang for the buck on the dining plan) I think before we leave the park we are going to eat at the bbq place!!!

What do people usually do for dinner during the Halloween party?? I thought either dinner at MK or the resort. we are staying at All star movies, so it just kind of seems like a waste on the dining plan to eat there. I tried to get a reservation at Tonys for 5:00, but no luck!

 

[tink9702]

You don't say what time your flight arrives to see if there is enough time to get to Hoop De Doo?

I'd try to move Crystal Palace just a bit earlier if possible, if not you'll be fine!

Switching Rainforest Cafe for Tusker House is a good plan! More characters! We like FlameTree BBQ for a QS meal, you could also go to any resort for dinner that night if you wanted?

From what I've heard (never been) plan AT LEAST 90 minutes for Cinderella's Royal Table at dinner unless you have the earliest seating. The line for Cinderella, being seated and characters just take awhile. I'm guessing that does NOT put you outside for the fireworks in time but didn't look up the timing on that particular day.

If you are headed into MK at 4pm (earliest you can with MNSSHP tickets) I'd plan on either eating something on the way in, say 3pm or so, maybe something at one of the monorail resorts or Whispering Canyon Cafe and take the boat? OR grabbing QS in MK. I would not plan on a TS meal that evening and waste your special party time!

have fun!!!

 

[kboo]

Thank u so much!!! I am definitely up in the air about that day and I think you have a much better plan now to see if I can get an ADR!

One thing---will there for sure be a bus to take us to the resort if we leave late??

It looks like you booked Tusker House for lunch, so this may not be an issue, but yes, they absolutely know who is still in the park and will have transportation waiting for you. If you're at all concerned, ask when you go in.

Another tip for Tusker House, though it may matter less since you're on the dining plan, is if you go at the last half hour of breakfast, you actually will get the benefit of the breakfast buffet and the lunch buffet, because they start switching stuff out. We usually do a late morning brunch at Tusker House as part of our AK day.

 

[mlsa80]

You don't say what time your flight arrives to see if there is enough time to get to Hoop De Doo?

I'd try to move Crystal Palace just a bit earlier if possible, if not you'll be fine!

Switching Rainforest Cafe for Tusker House is a good plan! More characters! We like FlameTree BBQ for a QS meal, you could also go to any resort for dinner that night if you wanted?

From what I've heard (never been) plan AT LEAST 90 minutes for Cinderella's Royal Table at dinner unless you have the earliest seating. The line for Cinderella, being seated and characters just take awhile. I'm guessing that does NOT put you outside for the fireworks in time but didn't look up the timing on that particular day.

If you are headed into MK at 4pm (earliest you can with MNSSHP tickets) I'd plan on either eating something on the way in, say 3pm or so, maybe something at one of the monorail resorts or Whispering Canyon Cafe and take the boat? OR grabbing QS in MK. I would not plan on a TS meal that evening and waste your special party time!

have fun!!!

We arrive on Saturday at 1:15. Surely we will have plenty of time to get to Hoop de doo by 6:15. I'm new to Disney so I am just ASSUMING!!!

 

[roller99]

October 18, 2015 is a Sunday. Do you actually arrive on Saturday October 17, or Sunday October 18?

 

[tink9702]

We arrive on Saturday at 1:15. Surely we will have plenty of time to get to Hoop de doo by 6:15. I'm new to Disney so I am just ASSUMING!!!

You will be fine!

 

[mandis77]

You have some great ADR's! We've done every one but Cape May (but that's on our list). For CRT, after you check in you will take a seat and wait to for your meet & greet with Cinderella. Then you will wait more to be called upstairs to the dining room. The meal itself moves quickly, but there is a little bit of waiting on the front end (at least, it was for us).

For AK if you are looking for dinner, I suggest hopping over to AKL for something there. The resort is gorgeous! BOMA is awesome, and I've heard great things about Sanaa & Jiko too. It's not character dining but is sure is yummy. If you get there before sundown you can see the animals roaming around too. What we did was take a resort bus from AK to AKL, then when we were done we took another resort bus from AKL to EP, then from EP to our resort. You could also call a cab.

 

[Kirkules]

Regarding CRT... we brought our 10 and 12 year old daughters for their first trip a couple of years ago and we got reservations for CRT for our final night at 8:45pm. At the time we were a little disappointed about such a late dinner... They sat us by the window and we had a great experience that ended up being magical. When our waiter placed our desserts on the table in front of us the fireworks began right outside our window and it felt like they were exploding right over our heads! If we ever did CRT again I don't think I would choose any other time! If possible, I would request a seat by the window and take my time eating!!!

 

[Kirkules]

Sorry for the multi-post... not sure how to delete...

 

[Kirkules]

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[mlsa80]

Regarding CRT... we brought our 10 and 12 year old daughters for their first trip a couple of years ago and we got reservations for CRT for our final night at 8:45pm. At the time we were a little disappointed about such a late dinner... They sat us by the window and we had a great experience that ended up being magical. When our waiter placed our desserts on the table in front of us the fireworks began right outside our window and it felt like they were exploding right over our heads! If we ever did CRT again I don't think I would choose any other time! If possible, I would request a seat by the window and take my time eating!!!

That is awesome!!! Will definitely keep that in mind