180 day window coming up...not sure what to do??

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I just realized that our 180 day window period for making ADRs is coming up in a month and I honestly have no idea what to do.....It seemed like a few months ago I had it all figured out, but now that the time is approaching I am unsure of how to go about doing this. Since we are booked under free dining and will be staying at AS Music, we decided to stick with the QSDP because we don't want to be on a schedule and be tied down to ADRs everyday. We decided that we will only do one or two character meals at the most and enjoy the variety of nice CS restaurants (Wolfgang Puck Express, Pepper Market, etc.) We want the flexibility of CS meals because we know that with our kids we need to be able to change plans quickly if needed; and our kids are very picky, moderate eaters so having the two snack credits and not wasting food at all those TS meals will be better for us. I know that we definitely want to do Crystal Palace for breakfast one morning so that we can be in the MK before it opens (and I also read a lot of good reviews about the breakfast food). We still aren't sure about what other meal to schedule, if we do a second one at all. The problem is at this point, I don't know what day to schedule the meals for as I don't know what days we will choose to go to certain parks. Apart from familiarizing ourselves with the maps of each park, getting to the parks early, and being aware of the park hours (including EMH) we decided in order to prevent a lot of stress, anxiety, and frustration that we are not going to 'over plan', rush around, or have a 'must do' list of attractions or characters, especially with our kids' ages, needs, and that this is our first family WDW trip. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[leslie826]

How about a late dinner at Chef Mickey? Great fun with the "fab 4" characters and you could spend the day at whatever park you choose before heading to dinner.

 

[stitchaholic]

WDW can be a little overwhemlming for the first time if not a little bit planned, i think it is a great decision to take the QS only if that works for your family, however i do suggest that you make a list of the attractions that are appropriate for your family, and the ones you really want to do, and try to plan to see them.
crystal palace probably would not be my first pick, but if your kids love pooh and the gang...it is probably a good choice and could get you into MK early before the crowds

 

[Hootch]

our relaxed approach to touring. If you're informed of what rides you want to do and other activities in the park, it can provide a calmer vacation. We didn't plan our last day at all last trip and just let the kids tell us where they wanted to go. We ended up hitting DHS, Epcot and MK that day.

Our kids are at the age where they want to be in the parks so we've reduced the number of TS meals the last couple of trips. (My wife and I are looking forward to a few more in the future.) Character meals can be convenient. CP is good and I personally like the Pooh characters. Chef Mickey's is convenient since you can see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. If you're spending more than one day at the MK it might be a nice break for dinner. They also often have a lunch during free dining periods.

Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom is also good. You can enter the park early there also. It's not as nice as getting in MK early but it puts you close to the safari ride.

The crowds are generally smaller during these times but the ADRs get booked quickly so call on your 180 day if possible.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

WDW can be a little overwhemlming for the first time if not a little bit planned, i think it is a great decision to take the QS only if that works for your family, however i do suggest that you make a list of the attractions that are appropriate for your family, and the ones you really want to do, and try to plan to see them.crystal palace probably would not be my first pick, but if your kids love pooh and the gang...it is probably a good choice and could get you into MK early before the crowds

Yes, our plan is to familiarize ourselves with the park maps in terms of the locations of the different rides and areas of the park and to get to the parks as early as we can since it will be summer; but in order to avoid the urge to rush around and have unfulfilled expectations, we are not going to have a must do list of attractions or characters so that if the lines are too long for certain things or if we have to change plans for some unexpected reason then we won't feel upset or disappointed.

 

[cmanuel]

If you are going to not plan and work on the fly, I wouldn't do anything. When you find yourself in a park that you'll be in during the times of lunch and dinner I would take a look at what's there and call the reservation number in the park to book something - especially for the sit down dinner.