ADRs done! How are our choices?

[bangzoom6877]

After reading about Disney restaurants for months and months (OK, I never really stopped reading about Disney dining since our July 2008 trip! ), this morning I finally made our ADRs for our trip from July 13 through 23, 2010! I used the online system at 6AM this morning (eastern time) and everything went very smoothly! I'm going to list what I reserved, and please tell me what you think! It will be me, DH, our sons (ages 3 and 5 when we go), and the first 4 nights my parents, sister, her BF and my 2 nieces (ages 6 and 9 when we go) will be joining us (except for our first DHS day, when they will go to Sea World). We have gone back and forth so many times, but here is our list of ADRs:

7/13/10 (arrival):
Dinner at Chef Mickey's at 5PM

7/14/10 (DHS, non-EMH morning):
Breakfast at Hollywood & Vine at 8AM (we may cancel this, not sure yet)
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe at 6:10 PM

7/15/10 (MK, EMH morning):
Dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table at 5:15 PM

7/16/10 (Epcot, non-EMH morning):
Lunch at Akershus (with princesses, in Norway) at 12:10 PM
(eating dinner around the World Showcase at various CS locations)

7/17/10 (no theme park, the rest of the family is leaving):
Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare at 9:25 AM
Dinner at Cape May Cafe at 5:30 PM

7/18/10 (Epcot, EMH morning):
Dinner at Le Cellier (yes, I gave in and had to try it, at least once) at 5:30PM

7/19/10 (DHS, EMH morning):
Lunch at 50s Prime Time Cafe at 11:35 AM
Dinner at Captain's Grille at 5:30 PM

7/20/10 (no theme park):
Dinner at Kona Cafe at 5:30 PM

7/21/10 (MK, non-EMH morning):
Dinner at Crystal Palace at 6 PM

7/22/10 (Epcot, non-EMH morning, World Showcase only for us):
Dinner at Les Chefs de France at 5:30 PM

7/23/10 (check-out):
Breakfast at Cape May Cafe at 7:30 AM

So, what do you think?

 

[bitohoney]

Did you skip AK on purpose?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I would skip Captain's Grill for dinner.

Since you're so close to EPCOT how about Tutto Italia, Rose and Crown or Biergarten? If not Ohana is a great choice with kids.

I'm getting ready to make our ADRs too - we'll be there July 18 through August 2 staying at BC!

 

[ThumpersMommy]

Since you're not sure about the breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, I would recommend a the character breakfast at Crystal Palace. It is Winnie the Pooh and friends and would be great for your youngsters (if they like Pooh). Food and atmosphere great and not overly expensive for what you get. I make an ADR each time I go and my kids (10 & 9) would be very sad if that wasn't a part of our WDW vacation.

 

[jodywgirl]

they all sound good except for the lunch at Norway. Unless your kids are used to a lot of fish and different food I would try to get a breakfast. I took my girls here and they did not like it at all for dinner. We went to breakfast the second time and they enjoyed that much more

 

[mom24diskidz]

Have to agree about Norway...did it for the princesses..Since my kids don't eat smoked fish or meats , there was not much for them..other than the princesses..Germany was so much fun for the kids and the food was great...A big surprise to us since I never thought of eating here as an option. Have a great trip looks like great choices for dining

 

[bangzoom6877]

Did you skip AK on purpose?

We went to AK in 2008 and although there were some things we enjoyed, we decided to skip it this time. We're not going back there until our kids request to go there. I know a lot of people think we're crazy for this, but we love the Bronx Zoo here in NY for the animals, and we have an annual membership and go there all the time with the kids. I know it's not a theme park with all kinds of rides, but we really weren't that impressed by AK last time.

I would skip Captain's Grill for dinner.

Since you're so close to EPCOT how about Tutto Italia, Rose and Crown or Biergarten? If not Ohana is a great choice with kids.

I'm getting ready to make our ADRs too - we'll be there July 18 through August 2 staying at BC!

We wanted to go to Captain's Grille because it is so close to BWV where we are staying. We also wanted to go to a couple of restaurants for dinner that are more low-key since we will be there for 10 nights. That's why we chose dinners at Captain's Grille and Kona Cafe also. Ohana doesn't appeal to us. We've been to Biergarten and loved it, but we have 3 days at Epcot and decided to try 3 different countries this time.

Since you're not sure about the breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, I would recommend a the character breakfast at Crystal Palace. It is Winnie the Pooh and friends and would be great for your youngsters (if they like Pooh). Food and atmosphere great and not overly expensive for what you get. I make an ADR each time I go and my kids (10 & 9) would be very sad if that wasn't a part of our WDW vacation.

We love Crystal Palace too! We have a dinner scheduled there on our second MK day. We really loved the dinner last time so we decided to do it again. That's why we didn't schedule the CP breakfast, because we are already doing the dinner. The day we go to dinner at CRT, it is an EMH morning so we won't schedule a breakfast during precious touring time when we can see Fantasyland with the kids before the park officially opens to everyone.

they all sound good except for the lunch at Norway. Unless your kids are used to a lot of fish and different food I would try to get a breakfast. I took my girls here and they did not like it at all for dinner. We went to breakfast the second time and they enjoyed that much more

We're still gonna go to Norway for lunch. The breakfast also looks great, but my sister went to the lunch before at Akershus and she knows my boys and she said there will be stuff for them to eat there. I saw the lunch menu online and it looks good for all of us. We also want to stay with the rest of the family for this meal and they want to go for lunch.

Thanks everyone! It feels great to have all the ADRs in place!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

I love your choices- you are going to have a wonderful trip!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I love your choices- you are going to have a wonderful trip!

Yay! Thanks! We're looking forward to this trip so much...I feel great to have the ADRs done...now I will be doing some nice tour planning for the parks!!!

 

[shawnh199]

I would keep you Hollywood and Vine Breakfast. It was a pretty good buffet with a good bit of variety. You are in the park early and can get started with rides and character interations as soon as you are done eatting. My girls (2.5 and 6) enjoyed it.

Le Cellier was our favorite meal out of 18 ADRs. The NY strip was the best we have ever had and the bread was awesome also. The girls really loved the bread.

We really enjoyed 50's Prime Time. My DH kept getting in trouble by our waitress (on purpose of course) but my DD 6 thought is was the funniest thing. She laughed all the way through dinner between my DH and table next to us constantly getting in trouble. They don't get onto the kids here either, just the adults!

We also enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe. The girls did stick horse races around the restaurant, they have you get up and do the hokey pokey. Be prepared for 20 bottles of ketchup if you ask your waiter for any - each waiter will bring you some. We got great pics of DH with a 3-4 foot fork they brought to our table after he asked for a fork!

You will be amazed at how different your crowd levels will be for Magic Kingdom on a non extra magic hours day. We did MK two days in a row and the first had EMH. It was crazy busy (early December with free dining going on) compared to the nonEMH day where we could pretty much walk up on rides.

I know you said you won't be going to AK, but we loved Tusker House for breakfast and for lunch. The buffet is huge and the food was great. Just an FYI for the future or if you change a nonpark day to AK.

Have an awesome trip!

 

[bangzoom6877]

I would keep you Hollywood and Vine Breakfast. It was a pretty good buffet with a good bit of variety. You are in the park early and can get started with rides and character interations as soon as you are done eatting. My girls (2.5 and 6) enjoyed it.

Le Cellier was our favorite meal out of 18 ADRs. The NY strip was the best we have ever had and the bread was awesome also. The girls really loved the bread.

We really enjoyed 50's Prime Time. My DH kept getting in trouble by our waitress (on purpose of course) but my DD 6 thought is was the funniest thing. She laughed all the way through dinner between my DH and table next to us constantly getting in trouble. They don't get onto the kids here either, just the adults!

We also enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe. The girls did stick horse races around the restaurant, they have you get up and do the hokey pokey. Be prepared for 20 bottles of ketchup if you ask your waiter for any - each waiter will bring you some. We got great pics of DH with a 3-4 foot fork they brought to our table after he asked for a fork!

You will be amazed at how different your crowd levels will be for Magic Kingdom on a non extra magic hours day. We did MK two days in a row and the first had EMH. It was crazy busy (early December with free dining going on) compared to the nonEMH day where we could pretty much walk up on rides.

I know you said you won't be going to AK, but we loved Tusker House for breakfast and for lunch. The buffet is huge and the food was great. Just an FYI for the future or if you change a nonpark day to AK.

Have an awesome trip!

Sounds great!! The main reasons we booked 50s Prime Time and Whispering Canyon was the antics at those 2 places! Can't wait to "get in trouble" at 50s Prime Time, and for the funny things that go on at Whispering Canyon! The lunch menu at 50s Prime Time appealed to us more so we booked that.

Le Cellier was one we went back and forth about 55 times!! We felt it would be nice to try it once though, then we can judge for ourselves whether or not we want to go back there on future trips. We do love steak, and we were thinking about Yachtsman Steakhouse too, but we think the kids will handle a place like Le Cellier better than a signature restaurant for now. I know that signatures can take much longer for dinner and I don't want my boys to be stuck eating dinner for 2 to 3 hours. A signature is something we're saving for our next trip after this one, in 2012, when my little one will be old enough for the kids' club and DH and I can go to a signature (or maybe Victoria and Albert's) just the 2 of us. This summer my little one will only be 3 so he is not big enough yet for the kids' club!

We're not going to change our minds about AK, at least not for this trip. In the future, if the boys tell us they want to go there we will go there for them. Otherwise, not planning to return.

I know the crowd difference at MK on non-EMH days. On our last trip we got to MK on our arrival day, at about 1PM and it was a non-EMH day and the crowds were not bad at all. We went later in the trip on an EMH morning, and got there about 40 minutes before the park opened. We did everything the kids wanted to do in Fantasyland before 8:30AM, and my older son got to drive on the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, which we thought we wouldn't have time to do! We walked right onto Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, etc., with no lines at all when the park first opened at 8AM. By the time the rest of the park was opening at 9AM, Peter Pan had a one-hour wait already! We didn't have a problem with lines that day...we had lunch before noon, and we left by 2PM for an afternoon break. We returned that evening for a dinner at Crystal Palace and walked around Main Street. If you know how to handle the park on an EMH-day, it can be done without too much aggravation. We have 2 days at DHS also, with one day a non-EMH morning and the other an EMH-morning. I scheduled the breakfast for the non-EMH morning of course. Also one EMH-morning at Epcot, one non-EMH day, and another non-EMH day where we will just tour the World Showcase, eat around the world, shop and relax!

 

[Ericandus]

My only comment is that if you want to see Remy at Chefs du France, his last "showing" is at 5:30...you might want to see if you can get in at 5pm. He was SOOO adorable!! Have a great trip!!

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

I would keep Hollywood and Vine breakfast b/c for preschoolers its a good place to go. They have a dance ever 15 mins and the kids have a blast.

 

[bangzoom6877]

My only comment is that if you want to see Remy at Chefs du France, his last "showing" is at 5:30...you might want to see if you can get in at 5pm. He was SOOO adorable!! Have a great trip!!

We usually get to our ADRs about 30 minutes before ADR time. We plan to get there at 5PM and so I made a 5:30 ADR. I will think about changing it, but that time really is the most convenient.

 

[drmommy]

It looks like you picked a lot of great places to eat!

One suggestion: we prefer O'Hana's over Konas... in fact, that's one of our favorite places to eat at Disney. They also have entertainment for the kids, and food amenable to 'picky eaters'.

And Remy is at Les Chefs de France? How often?