1st Time to Disney, Dining Plan and Must Do

[Jaime]

Hi Sarah,

You are going to have so much fun! We are going Dec 2-6...I can't wait! We are going to the MVMCP our first night too. We thought it would be best not to do a TS that night as everyone will be so excited anyway. You can also get into the MK on your MVMCP ticket around 4:30...that way if you have to leave the party after a little early you still got to do lots. Cosmic Rays counter service would be a great choice for supper.

We always share our CS's and when we can we share our TS's. There is a lot of food on the dining plan! Our first time using we had alot left over basically because we never used it the best way! Once we started sharing and using our SC too we had a better time as we didn't feel over full all the time On this trip we'll be using 2 CS and 1 SC per meal and doing a TS everday. That way we'll have 3 meals a day used on our plan.

If you didn't want to spend any extra money on TS I would limited it to 1 meal a day. Especially since the castle counts as two!

I think you'll love breakfast at the castle especially after going to the Bibbidy Boo Salon! I would cancel supper at the PF. Especially since my dd's would be upset if Cinderella didn't remember her after meeting her earlier in the day

Chef Mickey's Breakfast ...we didn't care for supper or service at Chef Mickey's but they do have a great selection of characters.

As far as the Fanastmic packages go we really DO NOT like the reserved seats! They are to the side and we always go to Fanastmic 35-40 prior and we have always got a seat in the center.

We have friends who love Sci-Fi and showed us pictures it looks great. My dd's are so excited about going and eating in the cars and watching movies...

Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare...if you really got your heart set on going to PF at the GF I would go otherwise I would go to CP with Pooh and friends. It was alot of fun...and supper was really good for a buffet! Plus the charcters are great! And even though our dd's aren't big POOH fans they loved it! Other great choice might be supper at the WCC at your hotel. We are sharing our meals at SCI_FI and WCC so we can do both...plus you get more food then we normally eat!

Have a great trip!

 

[Colleen27]

Looking for much needed advice on what to cancel. Here is my current plan:

November 27
arrive in Disney around -4:00PM
Dinner at the Castle -5:30PM reserv.
Very Merry Christmas Party- 7-12AM

I'd hestitate to have any pre-paid, inflexible plans on arrival day/night, because travel delays could mean missing those plans. I'd switch MVMCP to a different night, and cancel dinner at the castle because you have breakfast there as well.

November 28
Bibbidy Boo Salon at- 9:30AM
Breakfast at Castle -10:20AM
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare- 5:00PM

I'd suggest making this dinner later, because between the BBB appointment and breakfast, you really don't have much time for the park between meals. Dinner around 7 or 8-ish, closer to park closing time, would be better. Also, because CRT takes two credits, it isn't the most cost-effective use of the dining plan. I'd pay OOP for it to conserve credits.

November 29
Chef Mickey's Breakfast - 9:10AM
Quick Lunch
Storybook Princess Dinner Norway - 6:05PM

November 30
Quick Breakfast
Dinner Mamma Melrose and Fantasmic Package - 4:10PM

December 1
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare - 9:00AM
Quick Lunch
Chef Mickey's Backyard Barbeque - 6:30PM

I think I'd skip the BBQ too. We decided against doing it, because of the travel it takes to get there. We figured we'd have to allow over an hour for travel, and that wasn't worth it to us, since like you, we're having a meal with Mickey at the more conveniently located Chef Mickey's.

December 2
Quick Breakfast
Depart for home

The rest looks workable, but are you sure you want so many character meals? They can be noisy, and while they are fun, they aren't exactly relaxing meals. Even with our little princess, who was 4 for our last trip and will be 6 for our Dec trip, we stick to just a couple of character dinners interspersed with quieter, non-buffet table service.

Hope this helps! Happy planning!

 

[sarah112]

I had no idea that I could share TS or CS?? My daughter eats like a bird and is so picky. This could be answer for me!

I was looking at the Spirit of O'hana dinner show.....instead of the Mickey backyard BBQ or to subsitute for the one at the Grand Floridian.

I want to finish up my last night with something special. Any thoughts?
As of now, I'm planning the night I arrive from 7-12AM at MK, then the next full day at MK again and then I'm unsure about spending a whole day at Epcot, then another full day at MGM and maybe the final day at Animal Kingdom?

I never thought I'd spend so much planning this!

 

[Jaime]

I had no idea that I could share TS or CS?? My daughter eats like a bird and is so picky. This could be answer for me!

I was looking at the Spirit of O'hana dinner show.....instead of the Mickey backyard BBQ or to subsitute for the one at the Grand Floridian.

I want to finish up my last night with something special. Any thoughts?
As of now, I'm planning the night I arrive from 7-12AM at MK, then the next full day at MK again and then I'm unsure about spending a whole day at Epcot, then another full day at MGM and maybe the final day at Animal Kingdom?

I never thought I'd spend so much planning this!

We share all of our CS meals...you can get for example a 1/2 chicken & ribs meal with dessert and drink at Cosmic Rays...I would never eat all that myself. Children TS's have to be used for children meals...so on our last trip we shared at one restaurant our dd ordered her meal and at the next TS we shared again and just ordered OP for her. We also tend to use her CS for breakfast and use SC for us...then use our CS for lunch or supper.

Our children love EPCOT...soarin' is there favorite...mine too. EPCOT has some great rides and we love the character interaction around the world...there is never much of a wait...the illuminations are really nice and I am excited about seeing the Christmas version.

You are doing many nice character meals throughout your vacation...it would be nice to do something special your last night but I personally wouldn't use 2 more TS's for those meals...I would try Ohana's...1900 Park Fair...or WCC...followed by watching wishes from the beach and the water parade.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[sarah112]

After reading over everythiing, I've changed my plans to this:

Here is my current plan:

November 27
arrive in Disney around -4:00PM
Quick Service dinner
Very Merry Christmas Party- 7-12AM

November 28
Bibbidy Boo Salon at- 9:30AM
Breakfast at Castle -10:20AM
MK all day
Quick Dinner

November 29
Chef Mickey's Breakfast - 9:10AM
Off to Epcot
Storybook Princess Dinner Norway - 6:05PM

November 30
Quick Breakfast - off to MGM
Dinner Mamma Melrose and Fantasmic Package - 4:10PM

December 1
Quick Breakfast - off to Animal Kingdom
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare- 6:00PM

December 2
Quick Breakfast
Depart for home

While I'm still using 6 TS, I figured I can share at least 1 meal with my daughter. Also, I was told by WDW Dining that you cannot share TS Buffets only the sit down. Is this correct? Which would leave me with Mamma Melrose and Storybook Priincess in Norway to share. If I get any extra, I've heard the Sci-Fi Dinner in MGM is good, but I know I can't do it all this trip!

Thanks again!

Sarah

 

[budbeerlady]

With your kids I would share, the only catch is I think that the ts are coded child and adult. So maybe share the cs (one for lunch, one for breakfast) but you might not be able to with the ts on the dining plan. And the buffets you do need to each use your own ts or pay for each person.

 

[Treacle44]

I'd maybe skip dinner at the castle, you won't enjoy it as much as you'll be rushing for the start of MVMCP and you're doing breakfast there the next day anyway.

EDITED to say I've now read your update, that's much better and won't cost you a fortune.

T
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