Advice on my ADRs/Character Meal Choices

[piperett]

A little background: this is our first trip to Disney and I'm trying to pick restaurants so we can have a variety of dining experiences. We will be on the DDP.

DS (will have turned 5 a few days before) and DD (is 6, will be 7 in September). They really aren't into any particular characters, and my daughter really doesn't feel one way or another about the Disney princesses, although she is VERY girly and loves to dress up/wear makeup, etc. Hence me scheduling the Akershus ADR since all I've heard from friends is that I HAVE to let DD eat with the princesses. I think she would enjoy it, but it's not like she's looking for a particular princess that she must see. DS is easy-going and will enjoy pretty much anything.

Having said all that, here is what I've scheduled so far. I'll post my ADRs and my QS choices and any advice/comments are welcome!

Sunday - Day at MK (1st day!)
Lunch at Columbia Harbor House
Dinner at Pecos Bill's

Monday- Day at Epcot
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Dinner at Akershus

Tuesday- Day at AK
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
Dinner at Boma

Wednesday- Day at MK
Lunch at Cosmic Rays
Dinner at Hoop-de-doo Dinner Show (our anniversary)

Thursday- Day at HS
Lunch at Backlot Express
Dinner at 50's Prime Time

Friday- Free park day
Breakfast at Chef Mickey's
Dinner at Planet Hollywood

 

[deannanb]

Happy Anniversary - your kids will love the dinner!
Hoop De Do is a 2 credit meal - are you going to pay OOP for another TS?

and I have had NO experience at Akershus - but I have read several times that breakfast is better there than lunch or dinner -- someone with experience here might be able to let you know their thoughts.

 

[piperett]

Thanks for your comment! Yes, we plan on paying OOP for Planet Hollywood on our last day. I'm actually thinking of possibly changing that to TRex, but haven't decided yet. Have you been to either one of those? Thanks again!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Hey there! Your choices look great, and I was actually at Akershus just a few days ago for breakfast and it was amazinggggg!!!! so yummy. We are also thinking of trying dinner there in August, but are also debating because of the mixed reviews. As for trex and planet hollywood, I say absolutely change your reservation to trex! The food is way way better, and the atmosphere is soooo cool

Happy planning!

 

[stitchlover]

We LOVE Akershus for breakfast. It is great princess interaction and we enjoy the food. We are trying it for dinner this March for the first time.

I would also recommend changing from Planet Hollywood to TRex. Our daughter loves it.

Enjoy your trip and all your yummy meals.

 

[stitchlover]

One last thing...as far as what to pay for OOP. I would check out the menus here or at allears.net and look at the prices. Generally a breakfast buffet is one of the least expensive dining options. But with you having small children it might be cheaper to pay for Planet Hollywood or TRex (if you change).

As a rule of thumb we generally pay for signature dining OOP. It is generally not the best use of DDP credits. BUT I don't know how much HDDR costs. Just some thoughts as you decide what to pay for out of pocket.

 

[alala]

I think your plan looks really good. My kids are similar in age to yours, and on our last trip they really enjoyed Akershus and Boma.

We did Akershus for lunch. Since I haven't been there for breakfast I can't compare, but I thought the food at lunch was really good. We were all big fans of the dessert! (We usually only do one TS breakfast per trip, because my kids just don't eat enough at breakfast to justify using a TS credit.)

You also have some of our favorite CS places on your list!

Enjoy your first trip! My favorite part of Disney is just watching my kids enjoy it so much!

 

[piperett]

Hey there! Your choices look great, and I was actually at Akershus just a few days ago for breakfast and it was amazinggggg!!!! so yummy. We are also thinking of trying dinner there in August, but are also debating because of the mixed reviews. As for trex and planet hollywood, I say absolutely change your reservation to trex! The food is way way better, and the atmosphere is soooo cool

Happy planning!

Thanks for your comment! I think I will change to TRex. I've heard you have to call them directly though because a lot of times it will show as no availability on the website. Might do that tomorrow! Thanks!

 

[piperett]

One last thing...as far as what to pay for OOP. I would check out the menus here or at allears.net and look at the prices. Generally a breakfast buffet is one of the least expensive dining options. But with you having small children it might be cheaper to pay for Planet Hollywood or TRex (if you change).

As a rule of thumb we generally pay for signature dining OOP. It is generally not the best use of DDP credits. BUT I don't know how much HDDR costs. Just some thoughts as you decide what to pay for out of pocket.

Thanks for the tips. I don't think Planet Hollywood or TRex will take the dining plan, so that's the only reason I decided to pay OOP for that meal (with the $15 off PH voucher we get with our package I was hoping we would come out pretty good). Thanks for your replies! Off to check the menus.

 

[piperett]

I think your plan looks really good. My kids are similar in age to yours, and on our last trip they really enjoyed Akershus and Boma.

We did Akershus for lunch. Since I haven't been there for breakfast I can't compare, but I thought the food at lunch was really good. We were all big fans of the dessert! (We usually only do one TS breakfast per trip, because my kids just don't eat enough at breakfast to justify using a TS credit.)

You also have some of our favorite CS places on your list!

Enjoy your first trip! My favorite part of Disney is just watching my kids enjoy it so much!

Thank you! We aren't huge breakfast eaters either, but I figured we should do Chef Mickey's because of all the talk about it! It's a later breakfast, so hopefully it will hold us until dinner with a snack in between. Thanks for reply!

 

[mommyoftwinz]

I think they all sound good, the character meals are so much fun for the kids, they get excited when they walk into the room. My only suggestion would be if you are looking for another character meal the Crystal Palace in MK is excellent. The winnie the pooh characters are there and the do B,L and D all buffet so there's lots of choices. Plus if you are already in the MK it fits right into your day. The food is good and my kids were 6 when went and loved the characters. By the way, my son was just as excited to meet the princesses as my daughter, they kept asking him if he was a knight, we did CRT but had similiar princesses. It was cute.

 

[piperett]

I think they all sound good, the character meals are so much fun for the kids, they get excited when they walk into the room. My only suggestion would be if you are looking for another character meal the Crystal Palace in MK is excellent. The winnie the pooh characters are there and the do B,L and D all buffet so there's lots of choices. Plus if you are already in the MK it fits right into your day. The food is good and my kids were 6 when went and loved the characters. By the way, my son was just as excited to meet the princesses as my daughter, they kept asking him if he was a knight, we did CRT but had similiar princesses. It was cute.

Thanks for your comment! Crystal Palace does sound great, but I'm just not willing to give up 2 credits per person when we are already doing Hoop-De-Doo on our anniversary night. I settled on Akershus to get the princess feel without using the extra credit (especially since my daughter isn't really "in" to Disney princesses). If for some reason we upgrade to the DxDP I would definitely do it! I hope my little boy enjoys Akershus. He's pretty easy-going so he should go for it!

 

[deannanb]

Thanks for your comment! Crystal Palace does sound great, but I'm just not willing to give up 2 credits per person when we are already doing Hoop-De-Doo on our anniversary night. I settled on Akershus to get the princess feel without using the extra credit (especially since my daughter isn't really "in" to Disney princesses). If for some reason we upgrade to the DxDP I would definitely do it! I hope my little boy enjoys Akershus. He's pretty easy-going so he should go for it!

CP - Crystal Palace is one credit - eating with Pooh not the princesses
Cinderella's castle is 2 credits with princesses

 

[piperett]

CP - Crystal Palace is one credit - eating with Pooh not the princesses
Cinderella's castle is 2 credits with princesses

Ahhh! Ok. Thanks for clarifying. I just confused the two I guess. Thanks again!

 

[piperett]

New developments!

We have Chef Mickey's Breakfast (8:45 ADR) reserved for our last day (day 6) on our last MK day. I chose it because I'd heard so much about it and figured we should do it just once. DS5 loves breakfast foods. DD6 and I can take it or leave it, and DH does not eat breakfast. At all.

Even though we are on the Free Dining Plan, I'm starting to second guess spending that much money (or 1TS credit) on a breakfast buffet that we'll barely touch. I've heard Chef Mickey's food isn't the greatest anyhow and it's more about the characters. I figured by Day 6 we will have seen Mickey and Minnie several times over in the parks, so it won't have much oomph to it.

Which leads me to the idea of replacing it with Kona. Like I said, we'll be in MK that day, and if I'm correct it's not that difficult to get to Kona from MK. I think we would enjoy a nice, more quiet meal (with great food!) for our last night in the World and one where we'll get our money's worth. We might even head back to MK for EMH (my Kona ADR is for 6:20 pm).

So, if you've done Chef Mickey's and/or Kona, what would you choose for your last TS meal? Here is my most updated plan if you need more information.

Sunday- L @ Columbia Harbour , D @ T-Rex (oop)
Monday- L @ Sunshine Seasons, D @ Akershus
Tuesday- L @ Flame Tree, D @ Boma
Wednesday- L @ Wolfgang Puck Express, D @ Hoop-de-doo Revue
Thursday- L @ Backlot Express, D @ 50's Prime Time
Friday- B @ Chef Mickey's, L @ Cosmic Rays, D @ Kona (gotta choose b/t B and D)

Thanks in advance for your advice!