Can someone check my ADR's & advise? I need to fix them & move on.

[moopdog]

This will be long, I keep playing with them & playing with them, but need to settle it and call it good. We are a family of 4, two hungry teens, a steak & potatoes Dad & semi-vegetarian self. We are on the dining plan. We have only eaten at O'hana and Hoop De Doo before, the rest will all be new to us. I have too many booked for our dining plan of 7 nights. The arrival day at Boatwrights is definitely up on the chopping block depending on if we ate at the airport etc, if we are not very hungry we will grab counter service & either pay out of pocket or use credits. We also have a signature meal and a dinner show so that means we'll have to scrimp someplace else to save the credits...not sure how yet. Open to suggestions. Another one I'm really struggling with is the Crystal Palace, which we DO love a good buffet, but I'd rather it be for dinner and not at 8:20 on an EMH day, seems like a waste being in the park early just to eat.

Ugh. Ok, here goes....

Thursday 3/2 arrive at POR 3 pm; ADR at Boatwrights 5:40pm
Fri 3/3 Crystal Palace 8:20 am
Fri 3/3 O'Hana 4:10 PM
Sat 3/4 Epcot day Tutto Italiana 5:15
Sun 3/5 Studios Day then Disney Springs in evening ADR for The Boathouse 6 pm
Mon 3/6 Animal Kingdom Day - no ADR's. Either OOP, or share CS for dinner
Tues 3/7 MK day #2: BE Our Guest for lunch 12:00
Tues 3/7 6:15 for Hoop De Doo
Wed 3/8 (last full day) Epcot day - need help with this day....

I have ESPN Club for 3:50, simply because we've never been to the Boardwalk in our 4 trips, but I really really wanted to try House of Blues at Disney Springs too & we like to do a little shopping on our final night so I'm torn on this day!! If we walk to the Boardwalk around lunchtime, is quick in and out from Epcot? Then we could at least check it out and still go to HOB that night. Possibly.

 

[Calee]

If you are wanting to take a wait and see approach to arrival night, I would cancel the ADR. You don't want to be late getting in, or eat at the airport, etc and then pay the cancellation fee. If you see that your flight is on time and you want it, you could try for a same day ADR once you land.

We loved Crystal Palace, but it doesn't sound like you are too hip on the plan. On our first park day, I personally would probably not spend those EMH's eating.

Remember the BOG at lunch doesn't cost you table service credits.

 

[moopdog]

If you are wanting to take a wait and see approach to arrival night, I would cancel the ADR. You don't want to be late getting in, or eat at the airport, etc and then pay the cancellation fee. If you see that your flight is on time and you want it, you could try for a same day ADR once you land.

We loved Crystal Palace, but it doesn't sound like you are too hip on the plan. On our first park day, I personally would probably not spend those EMH's eating.

Remember the BOG at lunch doesn't cost you table service credits.

So, do you think we could easily get a walk in for Boatwright's that night if we did decide to eat there? I was actually hoping for O'hana on our arrival night and then we could've had Crystal Palace for dinner on our first day at the park. Should I keep trying for that? There was no suitable time when I first checked.

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't waste an early morning at MK on breakfast. Especially since there's a solid chance they'll change that from early morning to normal opening, and then you're really behind the 8 ball once you're done with foods are you considered Tusker House at AK? Lunch and dinner are a terrific menu with a variety of interesting, and some more plain, foods.

 

[moopdog]

Okay - so now I'm wondering if we should go to Disney Springs on our arrival night & get House of Blues. Will we regret staying at POR and not eating at Boatwright's? I sort of hate to arrive fairly early on arrival day and not really do much. If I could get O'hana for that night, I would do that and free up the next night for Crystal Palace, but there isn't anything available until after 9.

 

[crabbygal902]

Thursday 3/2 arrive at POR 3 pm; ADR at Boatwrights 5:40pm I haven never been to Boatwrights, and I probably won't after hearing about the many subpar experiences of others. I'm sure there are folks who love it, but it receives enough "meh" that I want to put my dollars toward something more special. I don't think you will be missing anything by skipping it. Disney Springs would be a great alternative since you'll have boat service. HoB would be fun with teens, especially if there is live music.
Fri 3/3 Crystal Palace 8:20 am With teens, I would most certainly skip early morning anything, maybe even rope drop! If they are responsible enough to handle it, I would even let them sleep in and meet me later in the park.
Fri 3/3 O'Hana 4:10 PM Love this place!! Perfect for your whole family!
Sat 3/4 Epcot day Tutto Italiana 5:15 Have heard good things but have never been here
Sun 3/5 Studios Day then Disney Springs in evening ADR for The Boathouse 6 pm Repeat above comment
Mon 3/6 Animal Kingdom Day - no ADR's. Either OOP, or share CS for dinner While Boatwrights is not a must-do, I'd absolutely go to Sassagoula at POFQ for the beignets! You may want to consider seeing Yee-haw Bob at the River Roost this evening. Fun show!
Tues 3/7 MK day #2: BE Our Guest for lunch 12:00 Love this, the tuna nicoise salad is fabulous
Tues 3/7 6:15 for Hoop De Doo looking forward to this one, haven't tried it
Wed 3/8 (last full day) Epcot day - need help with this day....How about snacking around the world? So much fun! Some of our favorites are the pretzels and bratwurst in Germany, a dark chocolate covered caramel from Karmel Kuche in Germany, Shawarma platters in Morocco, grey goose slushies -for the adults, of course!--in France, ANYTHING from Les Halles in France---wow, that place is fantastic!!

I have ESPN Club for 3:50, simply because we've never been to the Boardwalk in our 4 trips, but I really really wanted to try House of Blues at Disney Springs too & we like to do a little shopping on our final night so I'm torn on this day!! If we walk to the Boardwalk around lunchtime, is quick in and out from Epcot? Then we could at least check it out and still go to HOB that night. Possibly.
I would put HoB and DS shopping on your first night. If you purchase anything at the beginning of your trip, you can have it sent to your resort. If you wait to shop on your last evening, you will have to carry it.
Go to ESPN Club and enjoy the Boardwalk on your last afternoon. Screen Door General Store on the Boardwalk is a good place to shop, and save room for ice cream at Ample Hills Creamery.
Spend your last evening in Epcot. Finish your trip with Illuminations. What a way to end your vacation! Mousegear and the countries in Epcot are great for shopping.
Walking from the Boardwalk area to Epcot is only 10 minutes, maybe 15 at most.

 

[BaseballMoM2007]

Have you thought about moving your Crystal Palace Breakfast to a later breakfast like 1030 so you could get there and get in some valuable park time early morning then eat and have a little break? ESPN club is a good one to pay out of pocket for if you are needing to save on credits food is reasonably priced. We really enjoy the Boardwalk area.

 

[absolutmey]

Have you thought about moving your Crystal Palace Breakfast to a later breakfast like 1030 so you could get there and get in some valuable park time early morning then eat and have a little break?

This is what I was going to suggest. Also, If I'm doing the math correctly:

Th 3/2 arrive at POR 3 pm; ADR at Boatwrights 5:40pm (4TS)
Fri 3/3 Crystal Palace 8:20 am (4TS)
Fri 3/3 O'Hana 4:10 PM (4TS)
Sat 3/4 Epcot day Tutto Italia 5:15 (4TS)
Sun 3/5 Studios Day then Disney Springs in evening ADR for The Boathouse 6 pm (4TS)
Mon 3/6 Animal Kingdom Day - no ADR's. Either OOP, or share CS for dinner
Tues 3/7 MK day #2: BE Our Guest for lunch 12:00 (4QS)
Tues 3/7 6:15 for Hoop De Doo (8TS)
Wed 3/8 (last full day) Epcot day - need help with this day....

This uses all your TS allotments and only 1 day of QS. I'd do QS on arrival night and CX Boatwrights. If you want to go to Disney Springs, why not try Earl of Sandwich or WGP Express? Both of those are good and use QS credits.

You can swap your QS credits for snacks, as well. this might work for your family for some meals in Epcot.


Ideas:

Th 3/2 arrive at POR 3 pm - head to DS by boat, try one of the good (4QS) options there.
Fri 3/3 Crystal Palace 8:20 am (4TS) - try for later ADR or cancel if you're not feeling it
Fri 3/3 O'Hana 4:10 PM (4TS)
Sat 3/4 Epcot day Tutto Italia 5:15 (4TS)- use (4QS) here or swap for snack credits to eat around the world - isn't this during F&G time? Also pick up snacks in EP for the rest of the trip.
Sun 3/5 Studios Day then Disney Springs in evening ADR for The Boathouse 6 pm (4TS)
Mon 3/6 Animal Kingdom Day - no ADR's. Either OOP, or share CS for dinner - you could try for a TS ADR (Sanaa, Boma, Tusker) or do Flame Tree or Y&Y QS here.
Tues 3/7 MK day #2: BE Our Guest for lunch 12:00 (4QS)
Tues 3/7 6:15 for Hoop De Doo (8TS)
Wed 3/8 (last full day) Epcot day - need help with this day.... Les Halles, Tang. Café, or some of the other good Epcot (4QS). How about trying Biergarten or Coral Reef (TS) ?

 

[moopdog]

Thank you everyone, you've given me some different options to consider. I think I'll try for a boat to Disney Springs on our arrival evening and get HOB. Crystal Palace for dinner just might not happen unless my family wants to swap out O'hana (I'm indifferent), which they love O'hana, so we shall see. Yes, we ARE there for the Flower & Garden festival but I forgot that had anything to do with food. I honestly don't know much about the FG show, as a matter of fact. Should we be excited?? I may need to put some thought into saving credits specifically for that (would I be using mostly snack or QS for the stands during that?). I realize I only have one QS mentioned above, but that's only because it's an actual ADR, the rest I was going to worry about closer to the trip.

 

[moopdog]

Thank you everyone, you've given me some different options to consider. I think I'll try for a boat to Disney Springs on our arrival evening and get HOB. Crystal Palace for dinner just might not happen unless my family wants to swap out O'hana (I'm indifferent), which they love O'hana, so we shall see. Yes, we ARE there for the Flower & Garden festival but I forgot that had anything to do with food. I honestly don't know much about the FG show, as a matter of fact. Should we be excited?? I may need to put some thought into saving credits specifically for that (would I be using mostly snack or QS for the stands during that?). I realize I only have one QS mentioned above, but that's only because it's an actual ADR, the rest I was going to worry about closer to the trip.

But I forgot to ask - WHEN can I try for House of Blues? I'd like to get it as soon as possible & am I wrong assuming it won't be hard to get decent time? I'm hoping for 6.

 

[Pace]

This will be long, I keep playing with them & playing with them, but need to settle it and call it good. We are a family of 4, two hungry teens, a steak & potatoes Dad & semi-vegetarian self. We are on the dining plan. We have only eaten at O'hana and Hoop De Doo before, the rest will all be new to us. I have too many booked for our dining plan of 7 nights. The arrival day at Boatwrights is definitely up on the chopping block depending on if we ate at the airport etc, if we are not very hungry we will grab counter service & either pay out of pocket or use credits. We also have a signature meal and a dinner show so that means we'll have to scrimp someplace else to save the credits...not sure how yet. Open to suggestions. Another one I'm really struggling with is the Crystal Palace, which we DO love a good buffet, but I'd rather it be for dinner and not at 8:20 on an EMH day, seems like a waste being in the park early just to eat.

Ugh. Ok, here goes....

Thursday 3/2 arrive at POR 3 pm; ADR at Boatwrights 5:40pm
Fri 3/3 Crystal Palace 8:20 am
Fri 3/3 O'Hana 4:10 PM
Sat 3/4 Epcot day Tutto Italiana 5:15
Sun 3/5 Studios Day then Disney Springs in evening ADR for The Boathouse 6 pm
Mon 3/6 Animal Kingdom Day - no ADR's. Either OOP, or share CS for dinner
Tues 3/7 MK day #2: BE Our Guest for lunch 12:00
Tues 3/7 6:15 for Hoop De Doo
Wed 3/8 (last full day) Epcot day - need help with this day....

I have ESPN Club for 3:50, simply because we've never been to the Boardwalk in our 4 trips, but I really really wanted to try House of Blues at Disney Springs too & we like to do a little shopping on our final night so I'm torn on this day!! If we walk to the Boardwalk around lunchtime, is quick in and out from Epcot? Then we could at least check it out and still go to HOB that night. Possibly.

Where are you staying? Are you close to Disney Springs? If not, I would change Boatwrights to something more convenient on arrival day.

Is your Crystal Palace reservation pre-park opening? If so, I would keep it. The CMs should let you into the park between 7:45-8:00 to virtually an empty park. Great for pics!

For you last day at Epcot, there are so many great places to eat with a CS or TS credit. For TS, you may want to try San Angel Inn, Teppen Edo or the Garden Grill.

 

[sunflare]

But I forgot to ask - WHEN can I try for House of Blues? I'd like to get it as soon as possible & am I wrong assuming it won't be hard to get decent time? I'm hoping for 6.

Is House of Blues on OpenTable? I'd check for reservations there over the Disney site any day...no no-show fee and many more time options.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Late to the party but thought I would share my opinion.

I would drop the Boatwrights ADR. This will give you flexibility to decide where you want to eat when your plane lands and avoid the $10pp no-show charge if plane is late, you change your mind, eat at airport, etc. I just looked at MDE and they still have PLENTY of available times for dinner tonight. I have to assume the same would be true for your arrival day should you decide you DO want to eat there.

For your AK day, Flame Tree BBQ is a great use of QS credits. And if you aren't very hungry, the pulled pork cheddar fries are very filling AND THEY ARE ONLY A SNACK CREDIT. Probably one of the best uses of a snack credit on DW property IMHO. Your meat-and-potatoes husband would probably love them. I know you said you're a semi-vegetarian. So a BBQ joint might not be your first choice. Just thought I would suggest it.

As others have said, I would look for a later time for your 8:20 Crystal Palace. This is prime park time with lower crowds. Lines for rides will be short, but only for the first hour or so. I would show up at rope drop, rides for an hour or two, then breakfast around 9:30~10:00. The late breakfast might also mean that you can skip lunch (maybe grab a snack) and have an early dinner.

 

[crabbygal902]

But I forgot to ask - WHEN can I try for House of Blues? I'd like to get it as soon as possible & am I wrong assuming it won't be hard to get decent time? I'm hoping for 6.

I feel confident that getting a HoB reservation for most any time you like will not be much of a challenge.

I agree the the suggestion about using Open Table instead of the Disney Dining website to book HoB. There won't be a penalty if your travel is delayed or if you want to change your mind.

I somehow missed that you are on the dining plan, so that changes my advice a bit. I still suggest snacking around the World on the last evening. You are having a mid-day meal and probably wouldn't want another sit-down restaurant that evening. Also, eating around the World would be great for using up all the leftover snack and CS credits left on your dining plan.

I'm sure you are already thinking of this, but make sure you are using all of your DDP credits. If you do cancel CP breakfast, you'll need to fill that spot. Perhaps a TS on your AK day would interest you...I hear wonderful things about Tusker House. Maybe a late breakfast there (would give the teens a chance to roll out of bed and for you to do some rope drop touring) would be a good sub for CP.

 

[WhitneyMB]

We have almost the same dates as you! We are staying at POR Thursday 3/2-3/5 then moving over to the Boardwalk until 3/8. I've been looking at a lot of the same restaurants too because we're doing the deluxe DP.

A few people had mentioned that 8-9:00 was good touring time--I just wanted to say that as these dates are not considered "peak" season, I'd be surprised if the parks opened that early. My family enjoys the occasional PPO breakfast, but your teenagers may not. They will let you in at 8:00 with an 8:20 reservation.

If you decide to cancel CP, there are good TS in AK. It's also a nice break! We like both Tusker and Yak&Yeti (TS).

 

[moopdog]

We have almost the same dates as you! We are staying at POR Thursday 3/2-3/5 then moving over to the Boardwalk until 3/8. I've been looking at a lot of the same restaurants too because we're doing the deluxe DP.

A few people had mentioned that 8-9:00 was good touring time--I just wanted to say that as these dates are not considered "peak" season, I'd be surprised if the parks opened that early. My family enjoys the occasional PPO breakfast, but your teenagers may not. They will let you in at 8:00 with an 8:20 reservation.

If you decide to cancel CP, there are good TS in AK. It's also a nice break! We like both Tusker and Yak&Yeti (TS).

My teenagers do enjoy a good breakfast and we all enjoy a good buffet. We decided that it would be fun to do one character meal, just for the novelty of it. And Winnie the Pooh won out. Think we'll stick with Crystal Palace, just still not sure if it'll be for breakfast or dinner. I do appreciate all of the feedback. As much as I'm looking forward to a nice seafood (and steak dinner for the boys) dinner, I'm still apprehensive about "wasting" 2TS per person on the Boathouse. We shall see.

 

[WhitneyMB]

We've never been to the Boathouse, but we enjoy mixing in Signature (2TS) meals when on the dining plan. It's fun on vacation to walk into someplace fancy and have everyone order the most expensive thing on the menu if we want, without feeling like we paid for it. We usually do the Yachtsman's Steakhouse. If we are feeling full, we get the desserts to go--and use them for breakfast the next morning.