Jan. 22: no adr, shutters or cs at resort (can't remember if there's cs at CBR? will have to go check!)
CBR has a pretty large food court, with typical food court quality food. Not bad, not great, but good enough if you're tired and want something quick. The Caesar salad with chicken is actually rather good for a quick place.
Jan. 23: MK
breakfast: snack credit
lunch: Liberty Tree Tavern @11:30 (too early?)
dinner: California Grill @ 5:40 time thoughts? too early?
I personally like those opening-time reservations. You're usually seated pretty quickly, the service is prompt because the section isn't immediately full, and the restaurant is a little quieter than later in the dining period.
Jan. 24: Epcot
breakfast: snack
lunch: Le Celllier @1:10
dinner: Garden Grill @7:00
thoughts: would have liked to switch and do cellier for dinner/garden grill for lunch, but those aren't open at the moment..who knows, something may come up. Still might switch Garden Grill, I'm not really feeling that enthusiastic about it...?
Garden Grill isn't open for lunch, and Le Cellier dinner is probably the hardest reservation in all of WDW to get. We haven't actually tried either one, but I've got Garden Grill booked for March based on some recent good reviews (and delicious pictures) and the fact that it is a character meal that isn't a buffet. However, there are so many good choices in Epcot that I'm waffling about it too; I'm still up in the air about changing GG for Via Napoli, La Hacienda, or one of the other World Showcase restaurants we haven't tried yet.
Jan 25: AK
breakfast: ? snack?
lunch: canceled sanaa, so nothing atm
dinner: Jiko @ 6:05
thoughts: canceled sanaa as one of us isn't a fan of spicy/curries...? other suggestions?
As far as breakfast snacks go, there's a place near the front of the park with coffee and pastries that is pretty good. It is on your right just as you cross from the entrance to Discovery Island, and they have basic muffins/danishes along with espresso/cappuccinos and such.
There are only the two TS choices in Animal Kingdom, and of them we liked Tusker House much better than Yak & Yeti. Tusker House is excellent for a buffet, and has a good balance between unusual/ethnic flavors and more conventional fare. We had an opening-time reservation there (11:40) and everything was so good, fresh and hot and yummy. Yak & Yeti was okay, but the quality was uneven and the restaurant is very loud. The lettuce wrap appetizer and wonton dessert were amazing, but the entrees were just so-so and the tempura a little on the soggy side.
Jan. 26 either universal or waterpark day, depending on our moods/weather (note that we are from the Canadian prairies so our definition of good waterpark weather is different than most ppl!
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breakfast:?
lunch:?
dinner: Flying Fish Cafe @7:25pm (later so we can get "home" from wherever we are that day..still too early?)
I know what you mean about waterpark weather. We're from Michigan, and we've had a waterpark day on every one of our trips. I also have really cute pics from our January trip of my kids swimming while the lifeguards looking on wore coats, hats and gloves.
If you do a waterpark, 7:25 is a great time. I don't know about Universal, we've never gone over there for a day on a Disney trip, but if you need to make that reservation later you shouldn't have a hard time changing it at the last minute. That's a slow time of year and not a high demand restaurant, so I'd leave it be and program Disney dining into your cell phone in case you need to make changes on the fly.
Jan 27: HS
breakfast:?
lunch:?
dinner:?
For breakfast, there aren't many choices in DHS. Just Starring Rolls, I believe, which is a quick service/snack bakery, and the Playhouse Disney character buffet which probably wouldn't be of interest to anyone without preschool-aged kids.
It gets pretty widely slammed here on the DIS and the menu certainly isn't gourmet, but I personally think Sci-Fi is worth a visit. The atmosphere is incomparable, and if you stick to the diner-type foods that go along with their theme (burgers, onion rings, milkshakes) the food is pretty good.
That's the only DHS restaurant I've gotten to try, unfortunately, because I was sick when the rest of the family went to Brown Derby for lunch. We usually leave the park for dinner on DHS days, to go somewhere at the Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Club resorts.
Jan 28: MK
breakfast: Chef Mickey @10:20 am
lunch: snack
dinner: Narcoosee's @6:10pm
I think my main concern in general is times. I don't want to always be rushing off to make an adr..I want to feel like there's enough time in between to relax and do a lot in the parks, but since I've never really been, it's tough to judge! I don't want to do more than 2 TS a day, that seems like so much time wasted in restaurants! BUT, we do want to enjoy and pamper ourselves when we're there!
We also want to be able to enjoy some of the nightlife at DTD a few nights while we're there (might as well enjoy the non-kids part of disney while we can!)
thanks in advance, I love this board!
I don't know how much nightlife is really left at DTD since the closure of Pleasure Island; we don't even go over there on every trip any more, even when my mom is traveling with us and happy to watch the kids. Most of what is there now is shopping, though there are a few restaurants that have live music. Raglan Road is the only one on the dining plan, and that might be an idea if you want to go over to DTD on your DHS day. I've only been there for lunch when there isn't any entertainment, but the food was quite good.
It looks like you have two evenings that would work for some time at DTD, on your AK and DHS days. And if you don't find enough to do there to occupy a second evening, you could always check out the piano bar or dance hall on the Boardwalk after your DHS day.
