anxious about dining- leave Wed!

[catfish]

I was so excited to get the dining plan for free, but now I am getting anxious about the choices. PS has been hard to get anywhere - I did wait too long and didn't realize they allowed double booking. Wish I had booked several options and now was only concerned with which to cancel.

My biggest disapointment is that my 6 yr old will be stuck eating mac&cheese/hot dogs/chicken tenders/ or hamburgers at TS restaurants. He might as well eat CS if he has to eat that junk. You would think with all the hoopla about healthy eating for our kids, they would throw in the occasional salad or vegetable. I guess I will be OOP for my son. I know buffet food isn't usually as good, but at least he could get some vegetables -unfortunately, I only got one buffet (Crystal Palace). Here's what I got:

10/5 lunch at Whispering Canyon. Couldn't get dinner anywhere- will do CS.

10/6 Typhoon Lagoon CS only?

10/7 MGM day. SCi-Fi for lunch -- they do have chicken&green beans on kids menu, but I have just read horible reviews of the food inclucding people who say it made them sick. Now I don't know. couldn't get dinner anywhere close to MK (we are going to MNSSHP)

10/8 AK lunch at Rainforest. Just realized it is not on plan even though I told CM I was on dining plan. And all reviews here say it is horrible. Only TS in AK? Couldn't get dinner anywhere.

10/9 Lunch at Crystal Palace. Dinner at Garden Grill.

10/10 Breakfast at Ohanas - will this be any good? Lunch?

10/11 No plans for lunch.

Am going to try the grocery delivery service to get breakfast foods in the room - and maybe a piece of fruit so the kids don't get scurvy.

Question - at Whispering Canyon there is a family Style option - can my 6yr old eat on that with us? What about the family style at Garden Grill?

Any Suggestions to make better meal choices? I can keep calling to see if anyone cancels.

 

[pennyplanner]

Catfish,

Don't worry about your kids! They'll be fine. I love the comment about scurvy.

If you are planning a trip to AK, why not make it in the afternoon and then take the bus over to the AK Lodge for dinner. Try for an ADR at Boma! If not, Tusker House (CS) has some of the best CS food on the property. Kids can get a chicken drumstick with mashed potatoes and applesauce.

Where else appeals to you? Have heard good things about Concourse in the Contemporary. I love Kona Cafe at the Poly. Keep trying!

Good luck and have a great trip!

--penny

 

[rkandmjsmommy]

Try not to get to worried, you will have such a GREAT time, my kids ate pretty well, not great. I will tell you this the appetizer at sci fi for the kids was either celery/carrots with ranch dip or a cheese and fruit platter with yogurt, my kids LOVED IT!

Have a great time, you will be in DISNEY

 

[daisax]

It should be easy to get fruit in the parks as a snack on the food plan -- I saw it everywhere!

 

[CrazyBoutDisney]

OMG, I have always LOVED the food at Sci Fi! Prime Time is also a great place! Crystal Palace has wonderfully healthy food choices for the kids at any meal. If you prefer to do AK in the morning, Donald's Breakfastosaurus would be a great choice if it's available. I have to agree with pennyplanner, too, about taking the bus over to AKL for a meal at Boma's!

LOL!!! Don't worry about CS, either. Most of the kid's meals have fruit or veggie sides to choose. Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[mommyoeo]

I worried about this too. The TS meals seem more like fast food so I will plan on making them eat a good variety in their CS meals. For CS, they will not eat chicken fingers, burgers, etc., because that's probably what they'll get at TS. I feel your pain! We leave Monday and I went out last night and got yogurt, cereal, granola bars, apples and bananas, milk and juice to keep in our hotel. I figure that a little junk food won't hurt but 11 days of junk and my kids will feel gross-- I want them to have fun, not have a tummy ache. I will make sure they get good food at other times since the TS meals seem less than adequate. Epcot CS meals seem like they offer a variety of choices with "real" veggies as side items. I hope your trip is great! I'll see you there--

Christy
Oct 3rd-13th
POP

 

[Gooofy-Blade]

your six year old would probably be better off ordering a kids meal at WC. This won't affect the rest of your family skillet. This is what worked best for our 7 year old.

 

[frannn]

how were you able to get it starting 10/5? Just wondering because we are arriving 10/7, and couldn't get it.

 

[danjoan14]

Don't worry. Everything looks fine. We are also eating at WCC and CP and looking forward to it. We'll be leaving next weekend. My sister and her family are also leaving next Wednesday.

 

[MomofKatie]

how were you able to get it starting 10/5? Just wondering because we are arriving 10/7, and couldn't get it.

I would assume they are checking in on the 4th, and start their TS meals on the 5th.

 

[frannn]

I would assume they are checking in on the 4th, and start their TS meals on the 5th.

Like I said, just wondering. Regardless, I'm glad they were able to get it.

 

[catfish]

yes - we booked our vacation beginning 10/4 but won't arrive until 10/5. That got us the free dining for the whole trip plus we got a lower room rate as the rates changed on 10/4. the lower room rate negated the fact that I am paying for a night we are not using. I plan to call and confirm our "late arrival" on 10/4 so they won't give our room away. I didn't even know about the free dining when I started looking into the trip on 8/18 and I basically had one day to figure it out and pay for the whole trip. Hope it all works. I really wanted POFQ but no Free dining left there and I even wanted to splurge on Poly - but I could only get WL. Hope we like it. We've only been to Disney once and stayed at the CR.

 

[henrylovespooh]

catfish -

We stayed at WL two years ago and loved it. The lobby is gorgeous, the pool is nice and the elevators make getting from your room to Roaring Forks very easy. The boat transportation to MK is great and the buses are great too.

Don't forget to call Disney Dining at night to see if there are any cancellations and also try just walking up to places in the morning to see if they have availability. You never know.

I also recommend Kona Cafe for dinner if you can get there. It's a great deal on the plan and the food is very good.

Have a great time!

 

[PrincessTrisha]

If you were planning to eat at MGM (scifi diner) maybe you could try beaches and cream instead - they don't take ADR's - the kid's meals are traditional (hotdog, hamburger, grilled cheese) but they offer fruit instead of fries.

Have you tried for the GF Cafe? It has a nice menu and is the one sitdown restuarant that I think might have an available ADR.

 

[lucincia]

Kids with TS - just don't order the crap.

Share with adults. Save the kids' TS credit and use it some other time at another TS and order from adult menu and share again.

I know Disney is expensive. But, $10 for a hot dog?

 

[jrogers345]

catfish -

We stayed at WL two years ago and loved it. The lobby is gorgeous, the pool is nice and the elevators make getting from your room to Roaring Forks very easy. The boat transportation to MK is great and the buses are great too.

Don't forget to call Disney Dining at night to see if there are any cancellations and also try just walking up to places in the morning to see if they have availability. You never know.

I also recommend Kona Cafe for dinner if you can get there. It's a great deal on the plan and the food is very good.

Have a great time!

Yes, call at night for cancellations and try walkin. When we were there a few years ago I got up early one morning and when down to the concourse in the Contemporary and Chef Mickey's had hardly anybody there. I asked about getting a table and was told yes. I ran upstairs and got DH and DD out of bed and told them to hurry and get dressed - we're having breakfast with Mickey!

 

[Bumbles]

I sent you a PM but realized I should probably stand up for Sci Fi in public.

Keep in mind, some people who may say the food made them sick are the same people who are eating themselves senseless with the free dining plan. I know my stomach churns just reading about the sheer quantity of food some people are eating (entire adult appetizers for one person? Not bad if it's a salad or a small appetizer, but I've seen several reports of one person eating entire orders of adult sized nachos and onion rings and the like and then going on to have an appetizer AND dessert.)

I think some people's tummies may be getting sensitive from the mass quantities of rich food they're eating moreso than it being an issue with the food at Sci Fi itself

 

[rickdeni]

Did you try for the Concourse Steakhouse in the Contemporary? When everything else is booked, you can usually get in here and the food is good.

 

[jrogers345]

Friends were there last week and they had luck with no reserv made til they got there. They went one night to one of the restaurants at GF and it was empty - just walked in.

 

[jenimay]

I was so excited to get the dining plan for free, but now I am getting anxious about the choices. PS has been hard to get anywhere - I did wait too long and didn't realize they allowed double booking. Wish I had booked several options and now was only concerned with which to cancel.

My biggest disapointment is that my 6 yr old will be stuck eating mac&cheese/hot dogs/chicken tenders/ or hamburgers at TS restaurants. He might as well eat CS if he has to eat that junk. You would think with all the hoopla about healthy eating for our kids, they would throw in the occasional salad or vegetable. I guess I will be OOP for my son. I know buffet food isn't usually as good, but at least he could get some vegetables -unfortunately, I only got one buffet (Crystal Palace). Here's what I got:

10/5 lunch at Whispering Canyon. Couldn't get dinner anywhere- will do CS.

10/6 Typhoon Lagoon CS only?

10/7 MGM day. SCi-Fi for lunch -- they do have chicken&green beans on kids menu, but I have just read horible reviews of the food inclucding people who say it made them sick. Now I don't know. couldn't get dinner anywhere close to MK (we are going to MNSSHP)

10/8 AK lunch at Rainforest. Just realized it is not on plan even though I told CM I was on dining plan. And all reviews here say it is horrible. Only TS in AK? Couldn't get dinner anywhere.

10/9 Lunch at Crystal Palace. Dinner at Garden Grill.

10/10 Breakfast at Ohanas - will this be any good? Lunch?

10/11 No plans for lunch.

Am going to try the grocery delivery service to get breakfast foods in the room - and maybe a piece of fruit so the kids don't get scurvy.

Question - at Whispering Canyon there is a family Style option - can my 6yr old eat on that with us? What about the family style at Garden Grill?

Any Suggestions to make better meal choices? I can keep calling to see if anyone cancels.

I'm kindof in the same boat. I went through a TA, who was a little slow, and well ended up with slim pickings.
I would suggest the Breakfastsaurous at AK instead of Rainforest, maybe a lunch at Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park Fare?
We're going to the MNSSHP on the 7th too. I desperately wanted LTT, but got Crystal Palace for 4 pm. Can't get Chef Mickey's and the only Whispering Canyon I could get is for 9:45 pm. Will probably cancel that. Good luck with your trip and try and remember: the food is only a small part of the experience and not everyone has to like everything everytime

Jeni