A little expert advice

[BreezysMom]

We are not huge dining people. We did the dining plan on our first two trip and I think DH was going to explode everytime I mentioned that we had an ADR just as he was heading to nap or swim. So subsequent trips we just would wing it and stayed CL as we are such light eaters.

So our upcoming trip is a special, nostalgic family vacay. We have decided to make some ADRs averaging one big meal a day but I need some help figuring some aspects out.

Here are our thoughts, the fact that 3 are in MK is frustrating logistics wise but we are staying the the Poly so not too inconvenient.

CRT- tradition for every trip. We do breakfast. Totally disappointed that pic with Cinderella is not included any longer but one day I’ll get over that. Maybe...
This is non-negotiable for my family. We have tried lunch and dinner and were nit impressed but that was many years ago. Should we switch it up and try dinner?

CP- do we do breakfast lunch or dinner? We have not been since DD first trip at 6 years old. She would like to go again. Thoughts?

BOG- we were unable to secure a reservation there for our fall trip so we would really like to try it. I was thinking dinner the night we arrive do dinner? I hear such mixed reviews on this one. We would all love to try it just once! Thoughts?

OHana dinner- yep 7 stays and never done dinner. Did Spirit of Aloha a few time and breakfast OHana but never dinner. My goal would try and have this be our arrival night meal or last night dinner? Should we bother ?

Of note, DD will be 17 at the time and DH and I try to split and share things as we are not huge eaters

Thanks in advance!

 

[10CJ]

Never been to CP so no comment on that.

CRT - We had dinner there in 2015. It was fine, the kids enjoyed the experience. I don't really remember much about the food. I did not realize Cinderella was no longer taking pictures. Since it sounds like you have other dinners planned and you know you like the breakfast, I would stick with breakfast

BOG - We enjoyed our dinner there. I think it is worth trying once. I would try to make it later in your trip in increase you time options.

Ohana - I think you will have better luck getting the time you want by putting it at then end of the trip. I think it is worth doing once to see what you think. We had a nice dinner there.

 

[disneypaws]

BOG - had lunch there not dinner but the food was good and we liked the theming. Even my 8 year old son.

Ohana I liked a lot we all did. Food was good (the bread and the salad dressing were the high points for me) and I had a cocktail that was in a pineapple. All good

 

[chescat]

The only one on your list I've tried is BOG for dinner. My review was slightly mixed (salty food, somewhat inattentive waiter), while my husband absolutely loved everything. Even with my mixed review on the food and service, though, I'd still recommend trying it once. The atmosphere was really enjoyable, and we got a kick out of meeting the Beast (I thought it would be awkward as two adults, but he kept blowing me kisses and I completely melted). It ended up being a genuinely magical way to end our day at Magic Kingdom. I'm a big proponent of giving things a try for yourself, so I'd say go for it!

 

[MamaBelle4]

CRT- tradition for every trip. We do breakfast. Totally disappointed that pic with Cinderella is not included any longer but one day I’ll get over that. Maybe...
This is non-negotiable for my family. We have tried lunch and dinner and were nit impressed but that was many years ago. Should we switch it up and try dinner?

We don't do big breakfasts. My DH eats practically nothing at breakfast and I can't justify spending that much for him to eat nothing. We ate dinner there in 2017 and loved every minute of it. It should be noted that Cinderella still is there for pictures, they just don't hand out a pic any more.

CP- do we do breakfast lunch or dinner? We have not been since DD first trip at 6 years old. She would like to go again. Thoughts?

Only go in the evening, personally, but we loved it. Character interaction was pretty great.

BOG- we were unable to secure a reservation there for our fall trip so we would really like to try it. I was thinking dinner the night we arrive do dinner? I hear such mixed reviews on this one. We would all love to try it just once! Thoughts?

OHana dinner- yep 7 stays and never done dinner. Did Spirit of Aloha a few time and breakfast OHana but never dinner. My goal would try and have this be our arrival night meal or last night dinner? Should we bothe

Haven't been to these yet.

 

[Mickey92]

IMO, OHana dinner is definitely worth doing. It is one of my favorites. I agree that putting it toward the end of your trip would give you the most flexibility regarding times. It is very popular.

 

[CynBeth]

We love CP for breakfast. I would do BOG dinner but as a pp said it is hard to get you might have better luck the end of your trip.

 

[mousiemom]

we love the dining in disney and have been to a lot of the restaurants, we love to do our TS in the evenings, we don't like to use our credits on breakfast cause we like to be at parks when they open. We've done BOG a lot for a CS for lunch, it's really good and we love the decor of restaurant.
out of all of our trips, we've only done CRT once when our dd was little but she loves CP, it warmed my heart when last yr we were doing lunch there and she and her friend got up and did the character parade. (she's 17) we love ohana for dinner. every time has been so good. we love walking out to the beach afterwards to watch wishes by the water. we do this even if we are not doing ohana too. sometimes we will have dinner capt cooks. but we usually like to do a cs for lunch and have our big dinner at night. have fun planning and counting down your trip

 

[BreezysMom]

CRT- tradition for every trip. We do breakfast. Totally disappointed that pic with Cinderella is not included any longer but one day I’ll get over that. Maybe...
This is non-negotiable for my family. We have tried lunch and dinner and were nit impressed but that was many years ago. Should we switch it up and try dinner!

To clarify...giving the picture as part of the package. I’m annoyed at that change. If anything they should just include it as a digital print.

Thanks for the advice. It’s helpimg me narrow down some decisions.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are not huge dining people. We did the dining plan on our first two trip and I think DH was going to explode everytime I mentioned that we had an ADR just as he was heading to nap or swim. So subsequent trips we just would wing it and stayed CL as we are such light eaters.

So our upcoming trip is a special, nostalgic family vacay. We have decided to make some ADRs averaging one big meal a day but I need some help figuring some aspects out.

Here are our thoughts, the fact that 3 are in MK is frustrating logistics wise but we are staying the the Poly so not too inconvenient.

CRT- tradition for every trip. We do breakfast. Totally disappointed that pic with Cinderella is not included any longer but one day I’ll get over that. Maybe...
This is non-negotiable for my family. We have tried lunch and dinner and were nit impressed but that was many years ago. Should we switch it up and try dinner?

CP- do we do breakfast lunch or dinner? We have not been since DD first trip at 6 years old. She would like to go again. Thoughts?

BOG- we were unable to secure a reservation there for our fall trip so we would really like to try it. I was thinking dinner the night we arrive do dinner? I hear such mixed reviews on this one. We would all love to try it just once! Thoughts?

OHana dinner- yep 7 stays and never done dinner. Did Spirit of Aloha a few time and breakfast OHana but never dinner. My goal would try and have this be our arrival night meal or last night dinner? Should we bother ?

Of note, DD will be 17 at the time and DH and I try to split and share things as we are not huge eaters

Thanks in advance!

If you aren't huge eaters, I would probably stick with the breakfasts at CRT and CP. You can keep them on the lighter side and not pay the more expensive lunch and dinner prices. Just know, at CRT, CP and O'hana, you won't be able to "split" meals. You will all pay the adult price for the meals which isn't very cost effective if you typically share meals.

BOG dinner is nice! The food isn't great, but I would definitely do it once. The restaurant is lovely and it's fun to watch the Beast walking around.

I would ditch O'hana. We've been several times and our last experience in December was not good. Especially if you aren't huge eaters. They will give you a ton of food and you'll be paying about $50 per person for food you probably won't even eat. If you want to eat at Poly, I would consider Kona instead. The food is better and you'll be able to share meals there.

 

[tinabina919]

BOG Lunch is one of our favorites, usually have to go twice because there are too many delicious things! The French onion soup, French dip sandwich, crouque monsior, and the strawberry cupcake. All SO good. We’ve had dinner and breakfast there as well and lunch is definitely our favorite.

I’d also say O’hana is a must do.

We really enjoyed CRT dinner, my hubs still talks about his cheese pairing there, of all things.

Never been to CP but have heard lots of great breakfast reviews.

 

[jimmytammy]

We are not huge dining people. We did the dining plan on our first two trip and I think DH was going to explode everytime I mentioned that we had an ADR just as he was heading to nap or swim. So subsequent trips we just would wing it and stayed CL as we are such light eaters.

So our upcoming trip is a special, nostalgic family vacay. We have decided to make some ADRs averaging one big meal a day but I need some help figuring some aspects out. We never have done dining plan for the very reasons you say. One meal a day is plenty at WDW.

Here are our thoughts, the fact that 3 are in MK is frustrating logistics wise but we are staying the the Poly so not too inconvenient.

CRT- tradition for every trip. We do breakfast. Totally disappointed that pic with Cinderella is not included any longer but one day I’ll get over that. Maybe...
This is non-negotiable for my family. We have tried lunch and dinner and were nit impressed but that was many years ago. Should we switch it up and try dinner? If this is one you like and its become a must do, then by all means, go for it! We have only done breakfast there so can't speak to how lunch or dinner is, but I would say stay with what you know

CP- do we do breakfast lunch or dinner? We have not been since DD first trip at 6 years old. She would like to go again. Thoughts? Its been several years since we ate here. We have done breakfast and dinner, both were good. I will say this, with so many other choices, unless you want to see Pooh and friends, I would choose elsewhere. If MK needs to be the place, try LTT lunch, or Skipper Canteen. Good choices around the monorail loop also at Kona, The Wave for breakfast or lunch(dinner didn't impress)or GFC

BOG- we were unable to secure a reservation there for our fall trip so we would really like to try it. I was thinking dinner the night we arrive do dinner? I hear such mixed reviews on this one. We would all love to try it just once! Thoughts?Great theming! Lunch was so so, heard good things about dinner

OHana dinner- yep 7 stays and never done dinner. Did Spirit of Aloha a few time and breakfast OHana but never dinner. My goal would try and have this be our arrival night meal or last night dinner? Should we bother ?Dinner at Ohana is better than breakfast IMO. Be sure to be hungry when you go!

Of note, DD will be 17 at the time and DH and I try to split and share things as we are not huge eaters

Thanks in advance!

 

[ThePrincess&TheJohn]

I would do BOG for dinner, first off. Doesn't seem like a good value earlier plus you guys seem to like characters and dinner has the advantage of meeting Beast. Personally, I'm a CP breakfast fan and lunch hater. Just not for me food wise. So if all that's left is a later meal for CRT, do it. One bad meal doesn't equal all in the future. Plus, that meal really seems more about ambiance and characters than food. So fit that one in where it works left in your schedule.
As for Ohana, dinner is definitely a must do UNLESS you feel comfortable getting food and drinks at the Tambu Lounge (you can get the wings and bread pudding from Ohana plus amazing nachos) but you may not be able to with your daughter, idk. That being said, Ohana is an END of trip must do bc you will eat so much, you won't want to move after so not a great trip starter.

 

[Moliphino]

BOG - We enjoyed our dinner there. I think it is worth trying once. I would try to make it later in your trip in increase you time options.

Yes, it will be much easier to get an ADR if you try for later in your trip.

I've enjoyed all of my BOG dinners. I usually get the steak, the truffle mayo you get for your fries is so delicious. I love steak, but I really order this for the truffle mayo.

 

[KenHutch]

We have done CRT 3 times and my daughter liked it but at 17 she has somewhat outgrown it. We have done Crystal Palace twice one for breakfast and once for lunch. I liked the lunch more, BoG this will be our 1st time but Ohana's we eat there twice every trip, it us always our last meal there and we always try for a time to coincide with the MK fireworks. They pipe in the music and its a nice way to finish a vacation.

 

[LoriWV]

I've seen folks on here talk about getting the Twilight Feast (room service version of Ohana) if they are staying at Poly? Is this still an option? If so, and you and your husband are lighter eaters, would it be worth getting two servings of this for the three of you and try the food in the comfort of your room and without the challenge of making dinner reservations?

 

[jillt2ph]

I had breakfast at both CRT and CP last month. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the breakfast at CRT - I had not been there for 20+ years. The pastries were delish, and my standard breakfast was good. I wouldn't do it every trip due to the price, but it was a fun treat. I was surprised though at how bad the audio was. Not sure if they always use the recorded spiel to introduce the princesses, but it was pretty bad. I personally really loved Ariel's Grotto in CA where the page comes out and introduces each princess. Also had breakfast at Akershus the day after CRT, and the audio was much better there.

I have always been a fan of CP for breakfast. I love being able to get made to order eggs. They just have a great selection overall. I tried dinner a few times, but I am a pretty basic eater and found that to be not to my taste.

BOG for dinner was a few years ago, but i enjoyed it. I had the pork chop and it was pretty good. I don't know if I would use a day of admission just to go into the park for this one, though. This is one place where you could share a meal. I continue to be puzzled about the lack of dessert seelction here... To me, that is one of the drawbacks of using a meal credit here when on the dining plan. Heads up about Beast pics - the lighting was really strange in that room, and I was really disappointed in the way the photopass pics and cell pics turned out.

Have a great time!

 

[JennyDrake]

CP is LOUD (even by WDW standards) and chaotic. Food is OK--better than Chef Mickey's.....

BOG - I would go with breakfast or lunch, lower prices. Great atmosphere, I thought food was pricy (even by WDW standards) but tasty-portions were not large...

O'Hana is INSANE! LOUD! CHAOTIC! Food isn't terrible but I have yet to have attentive service, had to ask repeatedly for more food, drink refills, etc. When I have eaten there the meat was cooked dead. Dead dead. Very dead. You get the idea.....

Have you considered LTT???