Advice for Dining locations

[ks-man]

I'm looking for advice for our newly planned trip next May. We will have the dining plan and this is our third trip with the kids being 5 (girl) and 2 (boy) for this trip. The past two trips were very heavy on character dining as the kids enjoy it and I'm trying to decide how to plan for this one.

We will have at least 5 and maybe 6 table service meals. My daughter said she wants to see Lilo and Stich again so I guess we need to do O'Hanas, both kids love Winnie the Pooh but we've done Crystal Palace twice so it isn't a requirement. We are staying at the Contemporary so I'm considering Chef Mickey's our arrival day. We also really liked Garden Grill our first trip and my daughter loves Disney Junior (so Hollywood and Vine?). I'm thinking of skipping Akershus since she's doing her first bibbidi bobbidi boutique (mistake to skip princess dining?) and I don't see us having time for CRT.

As you can see, from all this alone I could easily do all 5 or even 6 character dining meals but I'm wondering if that is too much and we should just accept sacrificing some of them. We always love Via Napoli (done it twice) and also liked Crystal Reef last time. This doesn't even get into trying something new (Boma).

So people who go with little kids and the dining plan, do you stack up on character meals or do you try and limit the number? Do you aim to try new restaurants or if your research and experience say you've already found the good ones do you stick with those? I could easily skip Chef Mickey's for the Wave but since we arrive mid-afternoon at the Contemporary wouldn't Chef Mickey's be a nice way to kick things off? Is there anything wrong with doing 4 or 5 character meals for a 5 night/6 day trip?

Any advice (and a hard slap) would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JackStraw]

When we visited DW last spring, my kids were 2 (girl) and 6 (son) and only a couple of months away from their birthdays (in other words, closer to 3 & 7!). We also indulged in character dining and will be doing so again when we return this February. So here is my $.02 based on our experiences...

Last year, we did CRT (magical), Crystal Palace, Ohana, and Tusker House.

This year, we will be returning to CRT, and will also visit Chef Mickey's. In addition, my daughter wil be hitting Bibbidee Bobidee Boutique, plus we scheduled a Perfectly Princess Tea Party for her at the Grand Floridian which is supposed to be wonderful. The PPTP is not on the dining plan.

You prob can't go wrong with Hollywood & Vine given the ages of your kids. Ohana and Chef Mickeys are no brainers, too. If you can't squeeze in CRT after the BBB salon, there is another prime castle option besides Akershus...Be Our Guest at the Magic Kingdom! And you are far enough out from your trip that you can secure an ADR at Be Our Guest for dinner but you will need to jump on it the first day you are able to begin making ADRs as these are some of the first to go. In the event that you are heading out to Animal Kingdom goes, I am in the minority but I was underwhelmed by Tusker House.

At Epcot, you can also go to Chefs of France where they roll out Ratatouille during your meal. At the Magic Kingdom, we loved The Plaza where the Mayor of Main Street strolls through the restaurant and greets diners. Point being is that there are table service restaurants featuring characters (on a more limited basis) which are not technically "character meals" but still deliver on that front. Above and beyond characters, there are other table service meals that feature fun and games for the kids like Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge, or lots of music and interactive fun at Biergarten (where every day is Oktoberfest) and Marrakesh (belly dancing) at Epcot. There are also kid-friendly chain restaurants that are not unique to DW like T-Rex and Rainforest Cafe, both of which are in Downtown Disney.

My advice is do your Ohana breakfast, secure Chef Mickey's and Be Our Guest, and then open things up with some of the others that are not character-driven but still feature characters or are instead experience-driven due to immersive themes. For us, we felt that we got plenty of character stuff outside of meals by being able to do some meet & greets at the parks as well as view the various shows and parades. For instance, while I'm sure that Hollywood & Vine is a slam-dunk, you can also see those same Disney Jr characters at the Disney Junior Live on Stage! show and instead dine at Sci-Fi or 50s PT (or quick service).

Have an awesome time!