Am I missing something re park hours?

[brettystar]

We are staying 5/30 - 6/5 and I have noticed a lot of the parks seem to close early (ish) on some of these nights.
I am interested in having dinner at Rainforest Cafe in AKL at some stage but the day we are going the park shuts at 6pm. Does this mean the restaurants all close off as well? I assume they do? So maybe it would need to be a lunch rather than dinner.
It will be our first visit and we are staying at AKL - do you all think it is too difficult to say go to Magic Kingdom for the day and then make our way to Epcot for dinner and then perhaps go back to MK for extra magic hours in the late evening/early morning? Or is that simply too much toing and froing on the DTS?
Lastly, does anyone have any suggestions on where we should eat? Does anyone have any dining experiences to share that they consider 'must trys'?

 

[vicki_c]

During less crowded times, park hours are shorter, and AK always closes on the early side. You would have to check what dining times are available for your dates to know the latest you can make a reservation for. Rainforest is not actually in the park, so I'm guessing they may take reservations later than a restaurant in the park, but normally people are still dining in the restaurants for a while after the park closes.

On your other question, it's doable, but I wouldn't do it. We try to schedule our meals near where we plan to be. So for an MK day, I would eat in MK, or at one of the resort restaurants near MK. Your idea though is certainly easier than wanting to eat at DHS or AK on your MK day, because you can always take the monorail to Epcot. But depending on where you are eating, there can be quite a bit of walking involved once you enter Epcot.

 

[koolaidmoms]

It will be our first visit and we are staying at AKL - do you all think it is too difficult to say go to Magic Kingdom for the day and then make our way to Epcot for dinner and then perhaps go back to MK for extra magic hours in the late evening/early morning? Or is that simply too much toing and froing on the DTS?

We did this once and said, "NEVER again!"

We had our own car and it still took about an hour to two hours (each way) out of our day. Depending on where you are - say MK you have to leave the park get on the transportation to Epcot (monorail) then go through security, get in the park, walk through the park. If you want to eat in Germany, Italy or Morocco those are on the far side of the lake so you need to walk around or wait for a boat. By the time you get there it is an hour or more depending on how crowded everything is.

We now try to stay close to the park or in the park we are in each day. Much happier parents and kids!

 

[Hopefully]

We always decide what park which day first, then make our ADR's in or near that park. I would not go to Epcot from MK and back - too much travel and time wasted.
Do you know you can make your ADR's (Advanced Dining Reservations) now? The reservation window opens 180 days prior to your check in date. Some of the most popular theme park restaurants book immediately, so I urge you to make your ADR's ASAP so there is availability.You can always change them later on.
Take a look at the menus here on the DIS and also on allearsnet.com for menus and prices to help you decide.
Good Luck

 

[brettystar]

Thank you everyone for your great advice.
Much appreciated.