ADRs - which should we drop/change?

[PlutoIsHerFav]

This will be our first actual WDW trip (more than just a one day/night trip to MK). I've made several ADRs but don't plan to keep them all. I'd love some feedback on what to keep/drop/change. My girls are 2 and 6. They love characters - Mickey and Minnie especially. We don't have the dining plan. My oldest has Celiac so is gluten free. We also hope to go back to the resort midday for naps/rest and come back in the evenings, so late lunches are not a good option. Other thoughts - my 2 year old is not usually pleasant to dine with. Therefore, outside of character meals, QS is probably our best bet!

6/17 - arrive WL mid-afternoon, 5:50 Whispering Canyon
6/18 - AK - 11:45 Tusker House (this is on my "drop list" but want to make sure there are other good dining options for QS). We also have a 10:55-11:45 Safari FP+ so not sure if that will be an issue on time.
6/19 - Epcot - 11:30 Garden Grill (we have a 11:10 - 12:10 Spaceship Earth FP+)
6/20 - no park/no ADR - pool day - may reserve Raglan Road
6/21 - MK - 9:15 CRT and 6:35 pm BOG. Definitely need to drop one of these as we want to make the most of our day at MK. Ideally I wanted BOG late breakfast or lunch, but not available.
6/22 - depart, 11:35 - Chef Mickey (torn on this one due to mixed reviews, but seems to be only one with Mickey and Minnie together) - this is also my older daughter's birthday so wanted something before we hit the road.

I've thought about dropping CRT and Garden Grill, and replacing it with Akershus on our Epcot day. However, there currently isn't a time available that works for us.

 

[GillianP1301]

6/17 - WCC is a great choice. It will be nice and relaxing for you since you don't have to worry about transportation as it's your home resort and it's really entertaining so your 2yr old should be well occupied.

6/18 - Tusker House is a pretty good character meal, although if you are doing Chef Mickey on your last day, you will see mostly the same characters so if you were to drop one then TH may be a good option. AK has some great QS options like Flame Tree BBQ, Yak & Yeti or the new one in Pandora. If you do keep TH, then no concern with your FP time as long as you head to safari right at the start of your FP window at 10:55. You'l be done there and have plenty of time to get to the restaurant.

6/19 - Garden Grill is our fave character meal, I would definitely keep this one. Your FP time is an issue though because Spaceship Earth is a long ride (about 15 minutes) so even if you scan the allowable 5 minutes early, you'll be leaving yourself about 5 minutes to get to GG. Doable, but it will be rushed so if at all possible, I would try to move that FP time up just a little bit.

6/20 - I have not eaten at Raglan Road yet, but hear so many positive so likely a good choice here.

6/21 - I agree with dropping one of them. I've eaten at BOG a few times and it's really just an okay experience, not a must do so I would drop that one and go with the princess character dining at CRT which tends to be a highlight for girls the age of yours.

6/22 - CM food is pretty standard buffet fare, nothing to rave about, but it's decent. It's really the ability to see the Fab 5 in one location and the atmosphere of the contemporary with the monorail goign through that is really the sell for me on this one and well worth it. I think this is a great place to celebrate a birthday and to wrap up your vacation.

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

Thank you for your response; this is very helpful! I'll see if I can push up our Spaceship Earth FP.

Is CRT worth the $$? I think it'd be so fun for them to dine in the castle, but wondering if there will be plenty of interaction with the princesses? We did Bon Voyage, and it was fun, but it felt like a lot of waiting for them to make it to our table. My older daughter as done the Royal Tea on DCL and that was a great experience.

6/17 - WCC is a great choice. It will be nice and relaxing for you since you don't have to worry about transportation as it's your home resort and it's really entertaining so your 2yr old should be well occupied.

6/18 - Tusker House is a pretty good character meal, although if you are doing Chef Mickey on your last day, you will see mostly the same characters so if you were to drop one then TH may be a good option. AK has some great QS options like Flame Tree BBQ, Yak & Yeti or the new one in Pandora. If you do keep TH, then no concern with your FP time as long as you head to safari right at the start of your FP window at 10:55. You'l be done there and have plenty of time to get to the restaurant.

6/19 - Garden Grill is our fave character meal, I would definitely keep this one. Your FP time is an issue though because Spaceship Earth is a long ride (about 15 minutes) so even if you scan the allowable 5 minutes early, you'll be leaving yourself about 5 minutes to get to GG. Doable, but it will be rushed so if at all possible, I would try to move that FP time up just a little bit.

6/20 - I have not eaten at Raglan Road yet, but hear so many positive so likely a good choice here.

6/21 - I agree with dropping one of them. I've eaten at BOG a few times and it's really just an okay experience, not a must do so I would drop that one and go with the princess character dining at CRT which tends to be a highlight for girls the age of yours.

6/22 - CM food is pretty standard buffet fare, nothing to rave about, but it's decent. It's really the ability to see the Fab 5 in one location and the atmosphere of the contemporary with the monorail goign through that is really the sell for me on this one and well worth it. I think this is a great place to celebrate a birthday and to wrap up your vacation.

 

[GillianP1301]

Thank you for your response; this is very helpful! I'll see if I can push up our Spaceship Earth FP.

Is CRT worth the $$? I think it'd be so fun for them to dine in the castle, but wondering if there will be plenty of interaction with the princesses? We did Bon Voyage, and it was fun, but it felt like a lot of waiting for them to make it to our table. My older daughter as done the Royal Tea on DCL and that was a great experience.

I've only done CRT once and it was more for me living out a childhood dream than it was for my then 7 year old son, who was mortified by princesses.
The food was good, but the overall experience is really great and for that reason alone I always recommend trying it once, especially if you have princess fans. The character experience is going to be similar to Bon Voyage, with potentially long waits in between with a short (but still fun!) visit at each table so if that didn't work for you than it may be worth skipping and go with your BOG option. You don't get the character interaction (although there is a chance to meet Beast after your dinner), but the food is a bit better and it's still a pretty nice atmosphere inside that restaurant as well that is well worth seeing. Less $$ at BOG too, which is a nice plus. Tough choice!

 

[CynBeth]

I would keep BOG dinner.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We really enjoy WC - ate there many times - so much fun. We also enjoy Garden Grill and Tusker House.
CRT and BOG are not on our must do this. They are on my do once list. I would say BOG pricing and food is better than CRT - but the fact that you are in the castle makes up for it - but not for me to do over and over again. I would definitely do CRT once. Plus the princesses come to the table. At BOG you only meet the beast after dinner has ended. I would keep CRT - it seems to be better for your younger daughter and cancel BOG.

About Chef Mickeys. We too read so many bad reviews and for that reason never did it. When we were there for our daughters 21st birthday - she really wanted to go so we did with a party of 10 and everyone enjoyed the meal. We did a late breakfast and ended up being there when they switched to lunch. I would do Chef Mickeys.

I hope this helps - Enjoy!

 

[mfulk]

IMO CRT is not worth the money. We've eaten there several times over the past few years. The food is ok, the portions are small, and we've had to wait long past our ADR time every single time. For a princess meal, we prefer breakfast at Akershus.