A few questions about Disney with my family.

[jrasmom]

We haven't booked our trip yet but are 99.9% sure we're booking for Sept. when the free dining plan offer is going on.

there will be 5 of us BUT the youngest is 2 so he doesn't need a ticket for the parks etc. Does that mean we will be provided the dining plan for the 4 of us then we'll have to cover his food?

Do any of the eating places offer Free food for children 2 and under with the purchase of an adult? Like for a buffett type meal?

We've never been to Disney (well I went for one day when I was 12 BUT this is a LOT different! ) so I was just wondering about that first.

What about the refillable mugs I see everyone talking about getting at the resort. How much do those cost? Are they like coffee mugs or like plastic, insulated mugs or what?

Thanks for help!

 

[lil mermaid]

We will be taking our DD for her first trip to the world this Saturday! She will turn 2 the day that we return.

The way I understand it, little ones under 3 eat free at buffets, and they can eat off your plate at other restaurants. If you want to order them their own food, you would have to pay for that.

The mugs are plastic mugs that can be used for either soft drinks or coffee. The last time we went to WDW was back in 2002, so I am not sure of the cost but I believe they are around $10-12. There are lots of controversial threads about them if you care to do a search

 

[jrasmom]

There are lots of controversial threads about them if you care to do a search

OKay...I'm new here I will see if I can find those threads...alot of digging I see in my future!

I'm glad to hear about the eating free at buffets!! We also have a 6 yr. old and 9 yr. old. The 6 yr old can eat like a pig one day then not want much of anything for a few days so she and the youngest one can share some stuff some days too. Just trying to get an "idea" of how much OOP expense we'll have AFTER paying for our trip.

 

[luvmy2sams]

Some table service restaurants have special meals for the free kids. At CRT, for example, our kids have always been offered their own plates...I think it was french toast sticks on our last trip for DS2. We also received free plated meals at Teppanyaki and Whispering Canyon. I must need to plan another trip, because I can't recall what other table service restaurants we visited on our last trip.

The restaurants will always bring an extra plate out for your child if you simply want to share. The only time I can recall paying OOP for DS2 on the last trip was when we ate in the food court.

 

[jrasmom]

Okay.....a few more I thought of.

My daughter LOVES the princess' and I would love to take her to one character experience while we are there. WHERE is the best place to get to meet the princess' (namely Cinderella) for breakfast OR dinner I guess.

Is there somewhere that has Cinderella AND other characters that the boys might consider going to with us? Do all these type of experiences use 2 credits on the dining plan?

What about advance dinner reservations...do we NEED those for every nightly meal and breakfast too (other then the character breakfast).

After I book my package will they send me a bunch of information that I can browse thru to pick restaurants to book with or should I call and ask for this information OR is there somewhere online to find this information?

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

Well, there's Cinderella's Royal Table, in the castle. Big hit from its location, so it's hard to get a reservation. AND reviews have been spotty lately, AND it costs 2 table service credits.

My family is opting for 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. You still get Cinderella, Prince Charming, and I think the mice. It's an all you can eat buffet, and from what I've heard it's one of the better ones, food-wise. Best of all, it's only 1 table service credit.

The list of available restaurants, plus their menus, can be found on allearsnet.com. It's a very useful resource in planning! And I would recommend ADRS for all your sit down meals - that way you're sure to get in! (Especially during free dining when restaurants will be BUSY!)

Hope that helps!

 

[sara74]

Just returned from a week with a 4 yo and almost 2 yo. We were given a free plate for DS (the almost 2 yo) at CRT and it was a very nice experience, IMO. We were not given a free meal for DS at Whispering Canyon and we ate there 2x, so I don't think it was the server, just the restaurant. It is my understanding that at 'all you care to eat' places, ie buffets and CRT which is plated but all you can eat, they will give a little one their own meal for nothing, but at other places they can share or you order their own food. We have pretty hearty eaters and they had no probs sharing one meal between them!

 

[jrasmom]

Thank you guys for all your help!!

I'm learning a lot from all of you with experience!

Now..I've just got to read the abbreviations list again, check out that link for restaurants and decide what we want to do each day then choose eating things that way.

Another ??

With the base ticket to the theme parks, we can come & go in ONE park as much as we like that day, correct? Does that mean if we choose to spend 3 days in Magic Kingdom on a 5 day ticket we can? Do you HAVE to visit EACH theme park once on a base ticket or does it matter as long as you don't want to switch theme parks during the day?

 

[sara74]

My understanding of the tickets is that with a regular pass (no hopping) you can go to any one park in a given day, and could leave and return to that same park on the same day as many times as you conceivably wanted. If you had a 5 day pass, you could spend all 5 days at EPCOT, or all 5 at MK, or mix it up any way that you wanted to. Hope this helps, and welcome! Enjoy planning your trip!

 

[jrasmom]

so...here I am again.

If we are scheduled to check in on Sunday at our resort and we arrive in town early morning Sunday can we visit a park first, before going and checking into our hotel?

Which would you pick first Animal Kingdom or MGM? Which one will be less crowded on a Sunday?

As of now, we're not getting the park hopper...HE doesn't think we'll need it *WINK WINK* but I think we're going to wish we had it.

 

[Skyliner]

Well, there's Cinderella's Royal Table, in the castle. Big hit from its location, so it's hard to get a reservation. AND reviews have been spotty lately, AND it costs 2 table service credits.

My family is opting for 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. You still get Cinderella, Prince Charming, and I think the mice. It's an all you can eat buffet, and from what I've heard it's one of the better ones, food-wise. Best of all, it's only 1 table service credit.

We just got back and we did CRT on Saturday morning and 1900 Park Fare on Monday evening. At CRT we had Cinderalla (naturally) in the lobby, and Snow White, Belle and Alice (of Wonderland fame) in the dining room. The food was pre-plated, but I thought quite good. They brought more when we asked. At 1900 Park Fare we had the Fairy Godmother in the lobby (one of the very best characters we met), and Cinderella, Prince Charming and two female mice. The buffet at 1900 Park Fare was very good. I liked Boma better because it was unique, but 1900 Park Fare was the next best buffet we visited.

 

[DisneyMama27]

About the princess meal - we are doing 1900 Park Fare this year (never been for dinner, but the breakfast is wonderful - DD wants to see Cindy, so we are going for dinner this time), but both my DDs LOVED the Princess Storybook Dinner at Norway last year - we love that restaurant anyway, and we got to see 5 princesses all during the same meal! Fortunately they started coming through almost as soon as we sat down, so afterward we were able to get the girls to eat! It was fun and very exciting for them - they wore their princess dresses and all. DS acted not so thrilled, though he did get their autographs!

About the resort mugs - my kids loved them! We have bought them on all our recent trips and they are well worth it. The kids loved getting hot cocoa in the mornings and evenings, and I used our counter-service drink credit to get us all bottles of water for the park. We really didn't have to use snack credits for water because we ended up with so many botttles in the frig!

Have a great time - you really can't go wrong on any of the character meals - they are all great! My son will be 9 this year and he enjoys them a lot! I would suggest doing a dinner show if you do a 2TS meal!

 

[plutolovr]

On a package plan, you have to checkin at the resort to get your park tickets. They will be encoded on your room keys.

 

[jrasmom]

On a package plan, you have to checkin at the resort to get your park tickets. They will be encoded on your room keys.

Yes, we are now planning to check in early that morning, even if our rooms aren't ready that is fine. Pick up all of our paperwork, etc. and go to Magic Kingdom for the day. We have ADR's at Crystal Palace for a late lunch that day. Then we'll go back to the hotel, hopefully be able to get into our room, take a break, unpack a little, rest a little THEN go back into MK so we can see Wishes that night too.

Just wondering...can you see the parade at 3pm from either Crystal Palace or Tony's Town Square? Those are the two reservations for late lunch we have IN the Magic Kingdom while there. Every other ADR we have is in a hotel, not in a park.

 

[jrasmom]

forgot to say:

We have a character experience scheduled just about everyday!
Crystal Palace, 1900 Park Fare, Ohana's breakfast, Chef Mickey's, and Tony's Town is what I have reserved.

 

[laceemouse]

so...here I am again.

If we are scheduled to check in on Sunday at our resort and we arrive in town early morning Sunday can we visit a park first, before going and checking into our hotel?

Which would you pick first Animal Kingdom or MGM? Which one will be less crowded on a Sunday?

As of now, we're not getting the park hopper...HE doesn't think we'll need it *WINK WINK* but I think we're going to wish we had it.

I just wanted to tell you that we have been to WDW numerous times with our 4 kids all different ages and we almost NEVER park hop. I know most people do, but we don't. Once we go through all the hassle of getting on the bus/boat/monorail and getting the bags checked and getting into a park my kids just DO NOT want to leave until they have seen and done all they want to see and do. Mine would not be happy leaving, waiting for another bus/boat/monorail, going through another bag check, getting into another park......you would easily spend an hour plus trasferring. We either get to a park early and leave mid-afternoon to go back to the room to swim and eat at the resort, or we sleep a little later and then stay at the park until closing. Rarely have we switched parks or even left a park and then returned later. We have been at all times of the year, busy and slow times. Some people leave a park if it is crowded HOPING that another is less crowded. We just do fast pass, skip things that are not proirities, ect.... The new MYW tickets are going to save us $$$ because we will never pay extra to hop, but I know I am in the minority here .

 

[mama4]

I just wanted to tell you that we have been to WDW numerous times with our 4 kids all different ages and we almost NEVER park hop. I know most people do, but we don't. Once we go through all the hassle of getting on the bus/boat/monorail and getting the bags checked and getting into a park my kids just DO NOT want to leave until they have seen and done all they want to see and do. Mine would not be happy leaving, waiting for another bus/boat/monorail, going through another bag check, getting into another park......you would easily spend an hour plus trasferring. We either get to a park early and leave mid-afternoon to go back to the room to swim and eat at the resort, or we sleep a little later and then stay at the park until closing. Rarely have we switched parks or even left a park and then returned later. We have been at all times of the year, busy and slow times. Some people leave a park if it is crowded HOPING that another is less crowded. We just do fast pass, skip things that are not proirities, ect.... The new MYW tickets are going to save us $$$ because we will never pay extra to hop, but I know I am in the minority here .

Then I guess I'm in the minority as well because I totally agree about the park hopping. In fact, in most respects your family sounds very much like mine...except that my fourth child isn't here yet.

 

[jrasmom]

I'm beginning to think we'll do fine without the park hopper option.

Having a 2 yr. old who still takes naps I'm sure we will leave the park for a few hours in the afternoon though. Whether or not he actually naps or we just hit the pool is hard to tell. BUT we will return, I want to see the nighttime parades/WISHES at MK, and I want to see fantasmic at MGM, although we may be able to make it here all day since we have a later breakfast ADR the morning we plan to go there, we'll see.