A few first time dining/ restaurant questions

[SilentK]

Hello,

I am going to Disney World for the first time for 7 days on 13 December 2010.

I will soon be able to book ADRs and my obsessive mind is telling me to start sorting it out now!

I have one silly question...if the park shuts at say 6pm does that mean that all the restaurants in that park will also close then? We have been to Paris twice and enjoy being able to end the day with dinner between 8 and 9pm.

So far I would like to go to the following restaurants;

Cinderella's Royal Table
Rainforest Cafe
Coral Reef

We also want to go to the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at Grand Floridian. We are staying at Pop Century. Are we still able to go there? Also does anyone know how long it will take to travel there with the Disney transport?

I am considering booking the Fantasmic package but I understand that as the show is at 6:30 we would have to eat very early.

Are the restaurants I mentioned worth going to?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[VAN]

I don't know all the answers to your questions but here goes:

Cinderella's Royal Table ... never been but others enjoy the idea of eating in the castle

Rainforest Cafe ... Enjoy eating here; however, it is noisy - Join the Safari Club (I think you can do it on-line) and for a small one-time fee, you can get priority seating, discount in the gift shop, and a free appetizer. This membership will also work at other Landry restaurants.

Coral Reef ... never been but read lots of mixed reviews

Not sure how many restaurants you plan to go to, but the three you mentioned would not be at the top of my list. I try to select restaurants that are "unique" to WDW, that have themes, and may even have a "fun" atmosphere to them. Some of my favorites are Le Cellier (hard to get in to), San Angel Inn, Biergarten, Teppan Edo, etc.

Now your question about frequenting a restaurants located in a resort that you are not staying at ... YES, you are free to explore, shop, dine, etc at other hotels ... you cannot, however, use the pool! LOL!! We enjoy visiting the various hotels as they are all themed and it can be a relaxing way to spend any non-park days. Feel free to ride on the boats/ferries that leave from these resorts as well. There have been times that I have just gotten on a boat and ridden it "round-trip" as a way of relaxing and enjoying my time at WDW.


Transporation from Pop to the Grand Floridian would be to take the bus to the MK and then the monorail to the Grand Floridian from there. I'd say allow yourself an hour ... if you arrive early, you can always explore the lobby of the GF while you wait.

You will have a blast regardless of what you do. Have fun.

 

[tinka-belle]

As far as MK closing at 6pm, those are Christmas Party nights. Some restaurants will remain open, BUT when using a restaurant inside any park, valid park admission is required, so if your ADR is after the start time of the party, you'd have to have tickets for the party. If your ADR is before the party starts of course you can finish your meal but will be escorted out of the MK without party tickets.

On those nights it's best to go to another park, like Epcot, with lots of restaurants, or to one of the resort restaurants. If you go to the Grand Floridian MK transportation will be running late due to the party, so no problem getting back and forth to your resort.

 

[ChristaDeVil]

If you are looking for late dinners, I would recommend looking at some of the resort places. They tend to serve a little later (of course, after some of the park closings). We did have some ADR's at Epcot WS restaurants at 8 p.m. and later last year.

As for Fantasmic, we thought about doing the dining package, but it just wouldn't work for us to eat dinner that early. One option is to grab counter service inside the theater to eat while you wait for the show to start. We are planning on this for our August trip! We are eating lunch at Le Cellier and planning on a small dinner after we grab our Fantasmic seats.

 

[JoePa4Ever]

So far I would like to go to the following restaurants;

Cinderella's Royal Table it's a magical experience eating in the castle, it's not something we have to do on every trip but it is fun, the food is good (not great) and doesn't really justify the cost, but you are really paying for the experience + dining with the princesses & not the food
Rainforest Cafe - food is just ok, fun atmosphere, not a favorite of ours
Coral Reef - this is my favorite WDW restaurant, excellent food and love the atmosphere with the aquarium view

We also want to go to the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at Grand Floridian. never been

Are the restaurants I mentioned worth going to?

Many thanks in advance.

My answers are in red - I just gave my opinions on the restaurants since the pp answered your other questions.

 

[skiingfast]

Hello,

I am going to Disney World for the first time for 7 days on 13 December 2010.

I will soon be able to book ADRs and my obsessive mind is telling me to start sorting it out now!

I have one silly question...if the park shuts at say 6pm does that mean that all the restaurants in that park will also close then? We have been to Paris twice and enjoy being able to end the day with dinner between 8 and 9pm.

So far I would like to go to the following restaurants;

Cinderella's Royal Table
Rainforest Cafe
Coral Reef

We also want to go to the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at Grand Floridian. We are staying at Pop Century. Are we still able to go there? Also does anyone know how long it will take to travel there with the Disney transport?

I am considering booking the Fantasmic package but I understand that as the show is at 6:30 we would have to eat very early.

Are the restaurants I mentioned worth going to?

Many thanks in advance.

As far as how late you can get an ADR if a part closed at say 8, then usually upto about 7 or 7:30. The park doesn't really close until 9, but they close of lines for attractions at 8. This gives diners and shoppers more time.


I like you 3 choices, I really liked Coral reef foor and atmostphere but the service I last had, was just ok.

I wouldn't do RainForest only because I've been to others so it's not somthing I would do at Disney.

I don't know about the super breakfast, but I would give about an hour to travel. It can be really quick 15-20 minutes but you never know.

I like the Fantasmic dinner Package. you do have to eat early but it's really nice to show up 30 minutes before the show and get a seat.

 

[Cafeen]

Hello,

I am going to Disney World for the first time for 7 days on 13 December 2010.

I will soon be able to book ADRs and my obsessive mind is telling me to start sorting it out now!

I have one silly question...if the park shuts at say 6pm does that mean that all the restaurants in that park will also close then? We have been to Paris twice and enjoy being able to end the day with dinner between 8 and 9pm.
If the park closes at 6pm, typically the restaurants will stop taking reservations a bit before. They will not (usually!) take them for after closing time. If you're looking for a late dinner for a time after the parks close, best bet would be to make a trip to a resort. Note that they won't rush you through dinner, so if the park closes while eating, you aren't going to get kicked out.

Typically though, even that time of year, MK should be open until about 9pm (except on party nights where it closes at 7 to non-ticketed guests and they do shuffle non-ticketed guests out) and Epcot about the same, so you can score some late dinners there as well.

So far I would like to go to the following restaurants;

Cinderella's Royal Table - I did breakfast here last year and it was alright. It was neat dining in the castle, but wasn't something I'd do again. We did have a pretty poor server though, so that definitely tainted the experience.

Rainforest Cafe - Never been, but I have friends from Orlando who went last time. They seemed to like it. It's not on the dining plan if that's a consideration. If you have restaurants like these over across the pond, it may be something to skip, otherwise, if it interests you then go for it.

Coral Reef - Never been myself, but I hear great things about it (and some not so great, but no matter where you're looking at you're going to find that.)

We also want to go to the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at Grand Floridian. We are staying at Pop Century. Are we still able to go there? Also does anyone know how long it will take to travel there with the Disney transport?
- Yep, you are more than welcome to use any restaurant at any resort, whether you're staying there or not. To get there, take a bus from Pop to MK and then either a ferry to GF or the Monorail (get on the Resort Loop for the monorail). Travel time should be right around an hour, and the buses to MK should start running by about 6:30-7:00 am.

I am considering booking the Fantasmic package but I understand that as the show is at 6:30 we would have to eat very early. - Yup, that's how the Fantasmic package works. However, they sometimes do offer lunch packages rather than dinner ones, that may work better for you.

Are the restaurants I mentioned worth going to?
RFC is debatable. If you have nothing like it in your neck of the woods, and you are interested in the menu and aren't concerned about the dining plan, may as well . CRT I explained above as well. The breakfast at 1900 PF was alright when I went, the little one I brought was really acting up that morning (I brought my friend and her 2 1/2 year old daughter) so that had some effect on the meal for us.

Many thanks in advance.

Comments above in bolded green words

 

[SilentK]

Thank you for all your advice. It's really helpful.