Advice please on my ADRs -- first time w kid

[AllieV]

My ADRs come up on 6/5. We're staying onsite at 1-br BWV, no dining plan. My husband and I have always gone solo, winged everything, and never had trouble getting into places. We'd sleep till noon, eat a late breakfast, skip lunch and eat dinner at 9 pm or later.

THIS TIME . . . we have our super hyper 3-yr old with us, so I'm making ADRs. We like table service but I don't know if he'll stay put. Mon-Fri in early december at 1-br BWV. I'm thinking:

EDITED 6/1 BASED ON SUGGESTED COMMENTS:

MONDAY arrival at MCO 9am -- grab food/coffee at boardwalk somewhere, then to EPCOT to stretch our legs. I'm thinking ADR at Napoli/italy/epcot for their pizza for an early dinner. What time? We'd have been up since 4am, so no more parks in the evening. Should I plan a lunch or just do the early dinner?

TUESDAY -- breakfast at the boardwalk Kozzina then Animal Kingdom (switched from Wed to avoid EMH crowds) lunch at Rainforest Cafe at 1:30 pm; dinner for the kid in the room and a nite-out for mom/dad at Bluezoo at the Dolphin

WEDNESDAY -- breakfast at Kozzina TS if it went well or Swan; Magic Kingdom lunch at Liberty Inn TS 1pm. Possible MVMCP but not likely. Walk-in TS at boardwalk ESPN or Big River for dinner.

THURSDAY -- breakfast at Garden Grove/Swan (I hear they have starbucks); Magic Kingdom again, Crystal Palace lunch? No dinner plans yet.

FRIDAY -- plane leaves at 2:50, will do MGM in the morning only; unsure about lunch plans or if it's even feasible. Ideas?

 

[squirrel]

Are you using a Dining Plan? If so, what one? If not, were you looking at CS or TS for dinner?

Lunch at Tusker House doesn't have characters. If that works for you the food is great. If you book lunch between 1:00pm-1:40pm you get reserved seating for the Nemo show.

Monday dinner-Garden Grill for characters. If you think he would like the princesses Akershus.

Thursday dinner-If you are unsure of where you will be pick a resort to eat dinner at.

Some of our favorite dinner places are: 'Ohana, Kona Cafe, 50's Prime Time Cafe.

 

[AllieV]

Thanks Squirrel. No dining plan for us. We're not big eaters so it would cost us more.

I was unsure of the Tusker House because I just read it's buffet type and it's been our experience that buffets aren't great (plus we skeeve the open-air food that's been left sitting out for everyone to pass over). I was thinking of doing the Yak TS place instead. I'll go look for reviews of Tusker.

I guess we're looking for burger-type things for lunch (preferably TS and hopefully the little one would nap in his stroller while we eat) and def TS for dinner.

Does anyone know if Cat's place on the boardwalk now requires rez for breakfast?

 

[sharonabe]

How late is late breakfast? It looks like you're not planning much time in the parks, but only eating. In December, the parks all close earlier, so you have fewer hours to enjoy them.

Since you are not on a dining plan, I would avoid most buffets, as you will have to pay for DS.

You asked about CP and characters. Do you know how your DS will do around them? Is he going to want to wait in line in the parks to see them? If not, then character buffets (which I just told you to avoid and you said you don't like) are your better choice for character interaction.

How does DS do when you go out to eat at home? I'm a little afraid you're setting yourself up for some melt-downs with so many TS meals in the plan.

 

[AllieV]

How late is late breakfast? It looks like you're not planning much time in the parks, but only eating. In December, the parks all close earlier, so you have fewer hours to enjoy them.

Since you are not on a dining plan, I would avoid most buffets, as you will have to pay for DS.

You asked about CP and characters. Do you know how your DS will do around them? Is he going to want to wait in line in the parks to see them? If not, then character buffets (which I just told you to avoid and you said you don't like) are your better choice for character interaction.

How does DS do when you go out to eat at home? I'm a little afraid you're setting yourself up for some melt-downs with so many TS meals in the plan.

Late breakfast is maybe 9 - 10 am. We'll probably only be in the parks a few hours then come back to nap. I doubt DS will nap in the stroller I'm getting (or even sit in it). If we get to a park by 10 or 11, we'll stay till about 3 or 4 pm then go back. He liked the characters at Sesame Place. He'll stand in a short line for them but not long. At restaurants, he's antsy, but I'm counting on the day's stimulation to numb him a bit. I will keep your advice in mind, though, and thanks. I don't have ADRs until 6/5 it turns out, so I'm still planning (and changing).

 

[OhThePain]

In my personal opinion, I see some issues with how you have things set up.

My first issue is the 12:30 lunch ADR when you arrive at MCO at 9. That is cutting it close. If SAI is someplace you really want to eat, maybe make a later lunch ADR or go on another day. To get to SAI 3 and a half hours after you are supposed to land, is calling for a lot of things to go right.

On your Tuesday, you plan on having a late TS breakfast and then a TS lunch? Thats 2 pretty big meals in not a lot of time.

In general, you really have a lot of down-time planned. You lose a lot of time eating at TS restaurants, plus you mentioned that you plan on taking mid-day breaks. As a PP said, you seem like this trip is for hanging out in the resort or eating, you don't leave yourself a lot of park time.

Look into CS locations for lunch or dinner (or even breakfast). You may like eating at TS, but that many, for a 3 year old, on a short trip, is a bit much, IMO. You can find a pretty big variety of food at the CS locations. Otherwise, don't expect to be able to do too much in the parks.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

My ADRs come up in about 5 days, I think. We're staying onsite at BWV. My husband and I have always gone solo, winged everything, and never had trouble getting into places. We'd sleep till noon, eat a late breakfast, skip lunch and eat dinner at 9 pm or later.

EDIT: NO dining plan for us

THIS TIME . . . we have our super hyper 3-yr old with us, so I'm making ADRs. We like table service but I don't know if he'll stay put. Mon-Fri in early december at 1-br BWV. I'm thinking:

MONDAY arrival at MCO 9am -- ADR for San Angel/Mexico TS at 12:30 (boat ride to keep the kid busy while one of us orders lunch); early dinner where? We'd have been up since 4am, so no more parks in the evening.

TUESDAY -- late breakfast at the boardwalk TS (used to be Spoodles, no rez needed, right?) Animal Kingdom (switched from Wed to avoid EMH crowds) lunch at Tusker House at 1:30 pm (too late?); dinner for the kid in the room and a nite-out for mom/dad at Blu at the Dolphin

WEDNESDAY -- breakfast at TS boardwalk; Magic Kingdom lunch at Crystal Palace at 1:30 or 2 (too late?). (Question: we dislike buffets but think the kid might like the close-up of characters. Will he have enough in the park anyway and should we just do the Plaza?) Possible MVMCP but not likely. Dinner where?

THURSDAY -- breakfast at TS boardwalk; MGM lunch at SciFi at 1:30. No dinner plans yet. May switch to MGM Friday since it's small. May return to whatever park the 3-yr old liked best. What do I do for ADRs?

FRIDAY -- plane leaves at 2:50, will do a park in the morning only; unsure about lunch plans. Ideas?

Monday-go for a counter service at EPCOT (Sunshine Seasons has great choices) and end your day at EPCOT with an early (5ish) dinner at San Angel Inn. That way if things get really delayed you ave time earlier to deal with it. If you are able I would suggest staying in the park that day and going to bed early. If you are taking him back for a nap then you should be able to stay in the parks after your dinner (especially if you can all nap at the same time).

Tuesday-do an earlier breakfast at your resort to get to AK by 9:30. ADR for whatever restaurant you choose at 1:30. Trying to plan to eat at 9/10 may really be too late to also do an ADR.
If you are not on the dining plan you can also just do Flametree counter service for lunch and save yourselves the hassle of having a set time to eat. With my kiddos we have eaten an early breakfast in our room, and then gotten to AK at rope drop. By the time we are ready for lunch we usually eat and can do one or 2 more things before heading out of AK if naps are needed.

Wednesday-CP would be fun for your little one

Thursday-you may want to keep this as your "go back" day to MK. There is so much to do there for a 3yo-shows, characters, etc. and really the park with the most to do for a little one. I would get an ADR for the Plaza if you want an ADR or get some counter service

Friday-if your plane leaves at 2:50 you will most likely have to be back at the resort by noon. If you can get up early and do rope drop at DHS I would go there then and do TSM and the Disney Jr. show, but it won't give you a lot of time there.

Have you checked out allears.net? That will help you see what restaurants and counter service is available at each park. I would also try and plan to get there at rope drop each day-especially if you are planning a mid-day break.

 

[AllieV]

Thanks for all the advice. I've changed some plans around (see edited OP) but still have some holes to fill in. After this trip, I'll have a better idea about next time, but right now I'm sooo confused as to what to do. I don't want to be without a reservation if we want to get out of the December cold to sit and eat, but I don't want any meltdowns waiting for food or a check, either.

 

[cam&phoebsmom]

Thanks for all the advice. I've changed some plans around (see edited OP) but still have some holes to fill in. After this trip, I'll have a better idea about next time, but right now I'm sooo confused as to what to do. I don't want to be without a reservation if we want to get out of the December cold to sit and eat, but I don't want any meltdowns waiting for food or a check, either.

saw your edited plans-look more do-able. However on Wednesday if you do not have tickets to the Christmas Party keep in mind that hey will start letting people in at 4pm so the park will get crowded then.

I would actually start thinking more about times in the park and what you want to see and do and that will give you a good idea if you want to leave the park for a meal or opt for counter vs. table service. Like if you have a breakfast think about what time your reservation is, how long it will take you to get in the park, etc. You don't want to have small segmented blocks (like 2-3 hours) in the park in order to get a reservation, kwim?

Start looking at some shows/atttractions you want to see which might also take you out of the weather (Philharmagic, Turtle Talk, Mexico boat ride, movies around world showcase, Nemo, FOTK, etc.)

And above all be ready to change plans if need be.

 

[bigal'sdaughter]

Hi! I took DD when she was 2.5 and in Jan I took DD for her 4th birthday with DS 10 months and SUPER squirmy! (At 14 months old he now climbs up ladders and can "scurry" up onto couches, tables, counters -etc..... so I think I know some of your concerns)
We are also not usually dining plan people and we like table service. With DS last trip we did almost all TS and it was so much easier having help with a highchair/not fighting crowds etc.

Even though he wont nap in the stroller maybe think about "packing/grabbing" a breakfast some to get some more morning park time?
Also I would Definitely make a character meal ressie for the characters he would like best. (Mickey and crew or Pooh). Character meals gives you that chance to meet them without long lines and in the A/C or heat!
Unless he's really good with characters (I saw the sesame place comment) I would not make that character meal your first day-after the flight etc. Give him a chance to see or meet a character or 2 to "warm up." That really helped DD on her 1st trip.

We really enjoyed both LTT lunch and Crystal Palace Lunch btw!
As for a non character meal in Epcot - I really think that all of the restaurants do so well with the kids meals. I would honestly pick you and your DH's top 2 places and then check out the kids menu to cement your final decision... DD has enjoyed San Angel Inn, tutto Italia, 9 Dragons, Chefs de France and Le cellier!

I know you will have the best time!!!