193 days out and have no clue...

[millerpjm]

What I'm going to try to get for ADR's. It seems so hard to pick this far out! However, I am going during free dining, and I don't want to have a tired and cranky child (and husband) and have to wait 1 1/2 hours for a table because I didn't reserve anything....

Any suggestions? Tips? Must-do's? TIA!

Jen Mouse

 

[Jeanieblue114]

How old is the child?
Where are you staying?
Are you visting all of the parks?
What type of food do you like?
Which meal plan do you have?

I find that it's best to make your plans for what you want to do and where you want to go and then add in the dining that best suits your schedule (ie. don't plan a day at MK and decide that you want to do lunch at Rainforest Cafe at DTD and waste half the day).

Once you get a basic schedule of where you want to go and what you want to see, it's easy to fill in from there! There are great places everywhere!

 

[7165red]

Pick a character meal and some buffets and read over the menus. I hate making ADR 180 days out but it's the only way.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Good bets with children:

Crystal Palace @ Magic Kingdom (Pooh & friends) -- any meal
Garden Grill @ Epcot (Mickey, Pluto, Chip, Dale) -- dinner only
Chef Mickey's @ Contemporary Resort (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Donald) -- bfast, dinner
Tusker House @ Animal Kingdom (Mickey, Donald, Daisy, Goofy) -- breakfast


Other non-character meals we particularly like:
Liberty Tree Tavern @ MK -- lunch
Tutto Italia @ Epcot - lunch, dinner
Cape May Cafe @ Beach Club Resort (near Epcot) -- dinner
Mama Melrose @ Studios -- lunch, dinner
50's Prime Time Cafe @ Studios -- lunch, dinner
Whispering Canyone Cafe @ Wilderness Lodge -- any meal

If you go to AllEarsNet.com, choose Dining, and The Menus, you can see all the menus for the different restaurants. I like to look through those to help me decide where to go. Well, that, and the dining reviews here on the DIS!

 

[Micca]

Make some ADRs asap. You won't go too far wrong, and you can always change them. The WORST is being tired/hot/hungry at WDW with no place to eat. In August you'll definitely be at least 2 out of 3 of those things.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Our favorite "Do over" restaurants are Ohana, Crystal Palace, and Yachtsman. Chef Mickey's is fun, but food is eh.

 

[mickeynut1]

A few of our favorites are O'hana, Cape May Cafe, Chef Mickeys, Wispering Canyon, and Boma .

 

[millerpjm]

Thanks for the replies - keep the ideas coming!

It's just the 3 of us - Me, DH, and DS (age 8).

We're staying at Coronado Springs, and have the basic dining plan. We're not what you'd call "foodies"...

 

[rblucy]

I'd recommend Tusker House breakfast, Whispering Canyon dinner, and The Wave for 1 nicer dinner (nice but still comfortable and only 1 TS which is nice).

 

[nanni]

Do you want character meals or not? Have you been to any of the restaurants before? And if so, which did you like or not like?

While the food isn't outstanding at many of the buffets, I think it is certainly good food and fun. Garden Grille is one of my favorites. I also like CP for dinner. I haven't been to Sci Fi but it might be good for an 8 year old, or '50s Prime Time Cafe.

I'd find out of your son would like to meet any characters and see if you can fit those in, especially if you're not a foodie so that not having an OMG outstanding meal won't upset you. It's nice to get to see characters without standing in line.

 

[irishfanx4]

Our boys had an awesome time at the Roaring Restaurant at the Wilderness Lodge and Donalds Breakfast at the Animal Kingdom. The food and atmospere was terrific for us all. We are returning to DW in 3 weeks and 1 day without our kids and can't wait to go back to both! As well as we wouldn't even consider missing Tonys in MK.We also have reservation for my hubby and I at Cinderellas Table. Another memory filled meal!!

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Assuming your husband consumes, he'll love the Biergarten. The food is great, and kids love the oompah band. The food is the best of any buffet at WDW. The other advise of the first 2 posters is spot on. Check out Allears.net and know the lay of the land before making ADRs at resorts or DtD.