Confused about PPO and character meals

[travellingphilly]

I was able to get 2 PPO reservations for our upcoming trip on regular opening days at MK (BOG) and Epcot (Garden Grill). While I am not thrilled about price of breakfast at BOG, for now I am keeping that reservation unless something crazy happens and I can get lunch there or CRT.

I am not sure if i should keep the Garden Grill reservation. My little ones will see Mickey at Chef Mickey earlier in the week and we will probably see Chip and Dale at Fort Wilderness (i don't think my girls will be upset if we miss them) Is PPO necessary at Epcot? I booked this because I couldn't get a PPO at Akershus. Now I am looking at my reservations and thinking there are too many character meals for us. Getting so expensive....

Here's what I have so far for our 5 mornings
Chef Mickey brunch MK
Akershus - lunch on Epcot day 1, 9:15 breakfast day 2 (same day as GG PPO at 8)
1900 breakfast - on our "down day" that we might spend at AK or 1/2 day at MK
Garden Grill- PPO
BOG PPO

I am not super excited about the 1900 anymore or GG because I am worried that my girls won't love them that much to justify the cost.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[chris benton]

I think the only one who can answer the question of, "Is a ppo necessary at Epcot?" is you.
If the price is worth it for what you'd like to do, then yes.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would do garden grill instead of Chef Mickey’s. The food is better and it comes to your table, but of course you know what your family would enjoy more. If you think you have overdone it on the character meals, you probably have, Another choice might be Tusker House at AK instead of 1900 park fare.

 

[MainMom]

Will you be going to MK before Chef Mickeys? If yes, I would probably drop that one and keep GG. GG also puts you in the park you will be touring that day. Of the ones you have listed I would keep GG & Akershus. I would also consider adding Tusker House instead of 1900 PF.

 

[travellingphilly]

Thanks everyone! I am having anxiety because i am the only one doing all the planning- all the adults tell me to do what is best. but once we get there, i'm afraid they'll be some disgruntled guest!
We are going to MK day of Chef Mickey at 1:00. I was using it as a break from the park/heat and then we can either head back in to park or go to the hotel for a little rest. I was leaning towards that one only because i have a huge character fan who loves the fab 5. I know she will be disappointed if she doesn't see Minnie. As for Tusker House, there are no openings right now. I keep checking!

I am leaning heavily towards skipping 1900. Maybe we can do Hoop Dee Doo that night instead. I had wanted to book for arrival night, but now I am nervous in case there is an issue with travel plans.

If we do the 9:15 Akershus, could we do Frozen Ever After first? Or would we still need a FP? That's the most important ride in Epcot for us.

Thanks again, everyone! Planning this trip is like a part time job! But i can't wait to see my girls there- this trip is a surprise. I keep telling them that they can't go till they're 10 to throw them off the scent!

 

[dachsie]

Thanks everyone! I am having anxiety because i am the only one doing all the planning- all the adults tell me to do what is best. but once we get there, i'm afraid they'll be some disgruntled guest!
We are going to MK day of Chef Mickey at 1:00. I was using it as a break from the park/heat and then we can either head back in to park or go to the hotel for a little rest. I was leaning towards that one only because i have a huge character fan who loves the fab 5. I know she will be disappointed if she doesn't see Minnie. As for Tusker House, there are no openings right now. I keep checking!

I am leaning heavily towards skipping 1900. Maybe we can do Hoop Dee Doo that night instead. I had wanted to book for arrival night, but now I am nervous in case there is an issue with travel plans.

If we do the 9:15 Akershus, could we do Frozen Ever After first? Or would we still need a FP? That's the most important ride in Epcot for us.

Thanks again, everyone! Planning this trip is like a part time job! But i can't wait to see my girls there- this trip is a surprise. I keep telling them that they can't go till they're 10 to throw them off the scent!

If your party is leaving you to do all the planning then if someone is disgruntled, its their problem, not yours. Don't try to anticipate what everyone will want or you will drive yourself batty.

You probably wont have time to do FEA before your ADR as you should check-in as early as you get thru the gates and get there

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

@travellingphilly
We used to do a lot of PPO breakfasts, but now we lean towards a later breakfast (around 10ish). It gives us time to get a few rides done before it gets too crowded then we take a break at breakfast. If doing FEA and perhaps meeting Elsa / Anna is really important to you, you could do both of those first at rope drop (standby), then have breakfast at Akershus, but perhaps try to make it for 10:00am (9:15am might be a bit tight to do FEA then get to Akershus). We love breakfast at both GG and Akershus, so I don't think you can go wrong with either. FWIW, we love 1900 Park Fare as we think the characters are hilarious! We are big fans of character meals... so fun

 

[MainMom]

Thanks everyone! I am having anxiety because i am the only one doing all the planning- all the adults tell me to do what is best. but once we get there, i'm afraid they'll be some disgruntled guest!
We are going to MK day of Chef Mickey at 1:00. I was using it as a break from the park/heat and then we can either head back in to park or go to the hotel for a little rest. I was leaning towards that one only because i have a huge character fan who loves the fab 5. I know she will be disappointed if she doesn't see Minnie. As for Tusker House, there are no openings right now. I keep checking!

I am leaning heavily towards skipping 1900. Maybe we can do Hoop Dee Doo that night instead. I had wanted to book for arrival night, but now I am nervous in case there is an issue with travel plans.

If we do the 9:15 Akershus, could we do Frozen Ever After first? Or would we still need a FP? That's the most important ride in Epcot for us.

Thanks again, everyone! Planning this trip is like a part time job! But i can't wait to see my girls there- this trip is a surprise. I keep telling them that they can't go till they're 10 to throw them off the scent!

We did HDDR on our down day (pool day, no parks) and it was so much fun! I definitely recommend it.

 

[sharonabe]

If you're doing GG in hopes of getting to FEA, I wouldn't do it just for that. I'd keep the lunch Akershus on Day 1. If you can't get a FP+ for FEA, then you can rope drop it on one of your two days.

Also, at BoG, keep an eye on hours and make sure your PPO doesn't become a same time as opening. And if it helps at all, everyone doesn't have to order at BoG. It is a quick service meal, so you all can order as much or as little as you like, but the only a la carte items are cupcakes and drinks. Still you can share meals or order kid's meals if you like.

 

[travellingphilly]

If you're doing GG in hopes of getting to FEA, I wouldn't do it just for that. I'd keep the lunch Akershus on Day 1. If you can't get a FP+ for FEA, then you can rope drop it on one of your two days.

Also, at BoG, keep an eye on hours and make sure your PPO doesn't become a same time as opening. And if it helps at all, everyone doesn't have to order at BoG. It is a quick service meal, so you all can order as much or as little as you like, but the only a la carte items are cupcakes and drinks. Still you can share meals or order kid's meals if you like.

Thank you so much for sharing that BoG tip about sharing meals! I knew to watch for park opening time changing, but I had NO idea about the meals. That makes a HUGE difference and makes me that much more excited!!!
As for GG, I was just hoping to get us over to Soarin for my husband and older kids so i could potentially save a FP+ for FEA. I am so close to my FP+ window opening and it's keeping me awake at night. I haven't been to Disney since i was a teenager. I won't say how many years ago that was (Gulp) but let's just say things are a lot different!

 

[sharonabe]

Thank you so much for sharing that BoG tip about sharing meals! I knew to watch for park opening time changing, but I had NO idea about the meals. That makes a HUGE difference and makes me that much more excited!!!
As for GG, I was just hoping to get us over to Soarin for my husband and older kids so i could potentially save a FP+ for FEA. I am so close to my FP+ window opening and it's keeping me awake at night. I haven't been to Disney since i was a teenager. I won't say how many years ago that was (Gulp) but let's just say things are a lot different!

If Soarin' is your goal (along with saving a FP+), then I might keep it. It's a great breakfast and the character interaction is one of the best; you'll enjoy your time with Mickey more here than you will at Chef.

But since you have two mornings, you can FP two of the three Tier 1 attractions and rope drop the other. Soarin' added a third theater last year, so it takes a little longer for the lines to build. As long as you get to it within the first two hours of the day, I THINK you'll be okay.

 

[GillianP1301]

Garden Grill is a great breakfast and one of the best character interactions as well. A PPO there is a must for us on our trips. We combine it with Soarin' though and FP Test Track (we have no desire to to FEA, one and done for us) and it works well for that. But if Soarin' is not on you radar and if you're already worrying about spending too much on character meals and/or having too many character meals then you may want to drop it.

 

[travellingphilly]

I know a lot of people like GG and since it gets us into the park early, i am leaving it for now. I am leaning towards dropping 1900 PF breakfast and found an early lunch at Tusker House instead. Not everyone in the family will be going to AK, so have to check on that switch.

Is Chef Mickey the best place to find Minnie if we are not going to Hollywood Studios? She's not at Tusker House, correct?

 

[ewasilau]

You can also meet Minnie at the character breakfast at Cape May (Beach Club resort). She's my daughter's favorite too. (And no, she's not at Tusker House, unfortunately.) Cape May breakfast is less expensive than Akershus and Chef Mickey's too.

 

[danikoski]

I know a lot of people like GG and since it gets us into the park early, i am leaving it for now. I am leaning towards dropping 1900 PF breakfast and found an early lunch at Tusker House instead. Not everyone in the family will be going to AK, so have to check on that switch.

Is Chef Mickey the best place to find Minnie if we are not going to Hollywood Studios? She's not at Tusker House, correct?

For meet and greets, we've found her at the Character Spot at Epcot in Future World. Not sure if it's a little one that's too small for Soarin that is the Minnie fan, but, you could eat at Garden Grill, send the Soarin folks off, and take the ones who can't or don't want to ride Soarin to go meet Minnie. You could also get through Soarin and head over...the line shouldn't be too bad because everyone will be trying to get on the big ticket rides then.

 

[danikoski]

Also on Soarin, remember that if you do have LOs that can't ride Soarin you can use rider swap. Just ask the CM at the podium, and they will give you a pass to come back and ride for up to three people.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I would do garden grill instead of Chef Mickey’s. The food is better and it comes to your table, but of course you know what your family would enjoy more. If you think you have overdone it on the character meals, you probably have, Another choice might be Tusker House at AK instead of 1900 park fare.

I agree. Food is way better at GG than at Chef Mickeys. Plus i love that it comes to your table. I'd drop 1900 PF breakfast. To me, there's nothing special about that breakfast at all in terms of food, characters, and decore.

Honestly having so many morning ADRs can be tiring...esp if youre not morning people. We did that one year and learned quickly that its a mistake. My son doesnt like to get up too early...esp for breakfast. Lol. Im an early riser, but im not going there alone. If youre early risers naturally, then it might work out.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

I would do garden grill instead of Chef Mickey’s. The food is better and it comes to your table, but of course you know what your family would enjoy more. If you think you have overdone it on the character meals, you probably have, Another choice might be Tusker House at AK instead of 1900 park fare.

Wouldn't Tusker House be duplicating somewhat (Mickey and Goofy) Garden Grill character wise?

 

[goofyintoronto]

Wouldn't Tusker House be duplicating somewhat (Mickey and Goofy) Garden Grill character wise?

Well, those are the only two characters you'd be duplicating. You'd have chip/dale at GG. The theme/decore and food is different at both. Tusker would give more variety because its a buffet, but I like having the meal brought to me. So i prefer GG. I dont like the idea of scoping out for characters before making a dash to the buffet.

 

[MainMom]

Well, those are the only two characters you'd be duplicating. You'd have chip/dale at GG. The theme/decore and food is different at both. Tusker would give more variety because its a buffet, but I like having the meal brought to me. So i prefer GG. I dont like the idea of scoping out for characters before making a dash to the buffet.

I thought Pluto was at GG not Goofy.