Critique my ADR list please!

[DisGirl819]

Tomorrow is my 180 day mark so I'm working on finalizing my ADRs. We're traveling on the DxDDP and plan on most of our meals being TS. We find its just easier with two little ones to do it that way, we don't get stressed like we do at CS places. We will probably do some CS while we're there but for now I'm going to plan a TS for every meal and then tweak it a bit later. My issue right now is that we have 4 day tickets (military salute) and I have 5 park days planned so I'm wondering how I can rearrange to make it only 4 park days.

Day 1: arrive at MCO at 6:30 pm, eat in the airport and then DME to BLT, relax and check in

Day 2: MK day
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Cinderella's Royal Table dinner

Day 3: Epcot day
The Wave breakfast (we may cancel this one and just eat CS)
Chefs de France lunch
Garden Grill dinner

Day 4: down day, DTD and pool
Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast
T-Rex lunch (I know its not on DDP, we'll pay OOP)
Ohana dinner

Day 5: AK morning/afternoon, boardwalk evening
Safari Breakfast @ Tusker House
Tusker House lunch to get Nemo show priority seating
Cape May Cafe dinner

Day 6: down day/pool/babysitter night out (MK night)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch (may cancel and just do CS)
Artist Point dinner w/o kids (MK after dinner, PM EMH day)...can I do AP another night and not buy a single day ticket? Then what for dinner here? We really want PM park time w/o the kids)

Day 7: DHS morning/Epcot evening
Hollywood and Vine breakfast
50s Prime Time lunch (we may cancel this and do CS)
Via Napoli dinner

Day 8: leaving day flight out @6:30 pm
1900 Park Fare breakfast
Chef Mickey's lunch
Go home

 

[kathie859]

I read your tentative ADR list and had two thoughts 1). WOW...that's a lot of food and 2) have you factored in the transportation time to and from meals? You're spending valuable touring time in transit and eating.

Only you know your little ones' tolerance for sitting at the table, but remember they'll be off schedule and stimulated to the max and may not behave as they normally do. You may be asking too much of them. Just a thought.

Have a good time planning

 

[DisGirl819]

I'm not seeing a lot of transportation issues. Maybe you can explain what you mean? We're staying at BLT so I planned a lot of meals on the monorail line to make life easier. If we get there and find out that all the TS meals don't work out, we will probably pare it down but I hate to show up there and do CS meals and get majorly stressed out. Meals like that really make DH and I end up in a bad mood because one of us has to sit with cranky, hungry kids while the other buys, and carries all the food for four people. Plus you have to fight for a table, and with a stroller and two little ones, its just not fun. I know a lot of people prefer CS but I really don't think that's going to work for us. I know it sounds like a lot of food but I don't think we'll eat the app/dessert every single meal (and we can store leftover desserts in our hotel room for later too).

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I am just speaking from experience.. Last time I did DDXP was in 2008 when DS was 2.. We scheduled 3 TS a day.. and it was too much.. Even though you are staying on the monorail it still will take time to get from 1 place to another.. I would maybe only do 3 meals on 1 or 2 days not the majority of days.. it ends up being WAY TOO MUCH FOOD.. again, I am only speaking from experience and how I felt last time..
This time.. I am only doing DDXP for part of my trip, but I don't have more than 2 ADR's per day..
All the places that you have chosen though look really good..

 

[sarah05]

What is priority seating for the Nemo show. I want to take my DS to this when we go and I've never heard of this. Is it a package like Fantasmic where you get reserved seating?

 

[RoundtownGirl]

Your choices look good, but it's a lot of time spent at sit-down meals. I would make a few CS. I remember the visit when my 3 year old revolted against another sit down meal after the 3rd day. She just wanted a snack and time at the pool.

 

[Lehuaann]

Your adr's look good, but that's a lot of TS. You will find yourself running from restaurant to restaurant on this schedule...monorail or no monorail. It's one of the reasons that hinders us from doing Dlxdp again.

 

[sscassel]

Can I give you an honest opinion? If I were you I would go down to the Regular DP. Just have 1 stdown, table & snack. When it's hot out, your not going to want to eat a lot of heavy meals. Time is better spent swimming & enjoying rides. Looks like you'll be sitting & eating alot. I myself youd knock out the resturant in france. We spent over 2 hours eating lunch one yr and the place was only 1/2 full! My Vote, pick the sitdown that looks the best to you and do it at dinner. Your going to feel sick if you eat all day in the heat!

 

[DeeCeeSW]

We only schedule one TS per day. Ditto to what everyone else has been saying about too much food, travel time and too much time away from the parks.

 

[tkillini99]

I will have to ditto everyone else here...this sounds like a lot of food and a lot of time. I know where you are coming from on the CS thing, though--it can be very frustrating to be the one sitting down with the kiddos while the other person is in the line...and just as rough being the one standing in line trying to carry food for 4! However, to me, with 3 TS meals a day, it seems like you will find that you have very little park time in between all these meals. Here are a couple of suggestions: try to hit CS restaurants at off times, either very early or very late for lunch. On days where we eat an early light breakfast, we catch lunch right when places open. That way the lines are short and everything is much easier. Also, if you can't carry everything, you can ask a CM to help you! And, since you are staying at BLT, you will at least have a kitchenette (I didn't see what type of room you are in?) so you could definitely buy snacks and small meals for in the room...I find that makes things simpler for us as well. I know for our family, a week of DDxP would never work...maybe a couple of days, but not the whole week!

As for your evening out, I would recommend skipping Cape May and doing your AP/MK night out that evening instead. Cape May is good, but it seems like that would work out best in your scheduling...and it is a place you could miss. You are already doing several other buffets anyway...

Good luck planning! Only you know what works for your family!

 

[Wendy31]

Tomorrow is my 180 day mark so I'm working on finalizing my ADRs. We're traveling on the DxDDP and plan on most of our meals being TS. We find its just easier with two little ones to do it that way, we don't get stressed like we do at CS places. We will probably do some CS while we're there but for now I'm going to plan a TS for every meal and then tweak it a bit later. My issue right now is that we have 4 day tickets (military salute) and I have 5 park days planned so I'm wondering how I can rearrange to make it only 4 park days.

Day 1: arrive at MCO at 6:30 pm, eat in the airport and then DME to BLT, relax and check in

Day 2: MK day
Chef Mickey's breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern lunch
Cinderella's Royal Table dinner

Day 3: Epcot day
The Wave breakfast (we may cancel this one and just eat CS)
Chefs de France lunch
Garden Grill dinner

Day 4: down day, DTD and pool
Grand Floridian Cafe breakfast
T-Rex lunch (I know its not on DDP, we'll pay OOP)
Ohana dinner

Day 5: AK morning/afternoon, boardwalk evening
Safari Breakfast @ Tusker House
Tusker House lunch to get Nemo show priority seating
Cape May Cafe dinner

Day 6: down day/pool/babysitter night out (MK night)
Ohana breakfast
Whispering Canyon Cafe lunch (may cancel and just do CS)
Artist Point dinner w/o kids (MK after dinner, PM EMH day)...can I do AP another night and not buy a single day ticket? Then what for dinner here? We really want PM park time w/o the kids)

Day 7: DHS morning/Epcot evening
Hollywood and Vine breakfast
50s Prime Time lunch (we may cancel this and do CS)
Via Napoli dinner

Day 8: leaving day flight out @6:30 pm
1900 Park Fare breakfast
Chef Mickey's lunch
Go home

I do understand what you're saying about CS meals sometimes being more stressful than TS meals. Additionally, if your kids are like our kids, they normally do better w/ 3 actual meals/day on a routine schedule. We get the DxDP too, & I typically schedule 2 TS meals/day & 1 CS meal/day.

However, keep in mind that buffets can be a pain too - 1 parent sits w/ the kids while the other parent is up & down at the buffet! But, since many of character breakfasts are buffets, I guess it's a necessary evil! We prefer breakfast buffets to lunch or dinner buffets though - it just seems less hectic.

Anyway, if 3 TS meals/day is what works best for your family, that's fine! You've chosen a lot of good, family-fun places & most of your chosen restaurants are either near your resort or at the park you're touring. So, I think you'll be alright. Depending on the time of year, CS meals can sometimes take as long as TS meals anyway.

You might consider the following:

Day 2 (MK Day) - Since you're doing Chef Mickey's for lunch on your last day, I wouldn't also do Chef Mickey's for breakfast here. (We actually prefer Chef Mickey's breakfast to lunch or dinner, but I wouldn't go to the same restaurant twice.) Maybe consider Crystal Palace breakfast instead. It's in the MK, &, when you're through w/ breakfast, you'll already be in the park. LTT & CRT are good choices - I couldn't go to WDW w/o going to CRT! However, if you want a "lighter" lunch, the Plaza might be a good alternative to LTT - it's still a TS restaurant but the menu items aren't as "heavy".

Day 3 (EPCOT Day) - I would switch the Wave to your resort day. And go to the GF Cafe for breakfast on this day. Chefs de France should be good for lunch. However, if you plan to spend the majority of your time in Future World on this day (since you're going back into EPCOT on another evening), you might consider switching lunch to Coral Reef - I bet your kids would love the aquarium. Plus, you wouldn't have to trek all the way across to the other side of the World Showcase for lunch & then back to Future World for dinner. We normally do 1 day in Future World & 1 day in the World Showcase. Our kids really enjoy the character interaction at Garden Grill!

Day 4 (Resort & DTD Day) - I would switch breakfast to The Wave & go to the GF Cafe on my EPCOT day - less travel on your "resort/rest" day. I'm trying to decide about T-Rex for our upcoming trip. I've read that it's really, really loud, & I'm afraid our younger DS will be scared. But I think our older kids would really like it! Our family likes 'Ohana - it's our traditional "last night" dinner!

Day 5 (AK Day & Boardwalk Evening) - I wouldn't want to go to a buffet for both breakfast & lunch on the same day - especially the same buffet. Then, you've also got a buffet for dinner at Cape May. I would keep the breakfast buffet for the characters & choose somewhere else for lunch - maybe Yak and Yeti. Or, even Flame Tree - it's counter-service, but it's so peaceful by the water. Or, you could go to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch & pay OOP. For your DTD restaurant, you could go somewhere else besides T-Rex - maybe Raglan Road or Wolfgang Puck Cafe, both are on the DP. I know you want the good seating for the Nemo show, but I just couldn't do 2 buffets in a row at the same restaurant & the character meal would be more important to me. If you wanted something else for dinner, you could try Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club - so you're not doing another buffet. Right now, I'm trying to decide between Cape May & Flying Fish (2 TS credits) for our Boardwalk evening dinner.

* If you didn't want to use another park ticket for your date night, this is where you could have your date night & just skip the Boardwalk. Go to dinner (my suggestion: California Grill) & then go into the MK - however, if you'd have to have parkhoppers.

Day 6 (Resort Day & Date Night) - If you are going to WCC for lunch, I wouldn't go back to the WL for dinner at Artist Point. Instead, I would go to California Grill - it's at your resort, so you'll be closer to your kids. Plus, you'll be right there at the MK & can maximize your time in the MK w/ your DH. Additionally, I just think the California Grill is a more a "wow" restaurant than Artist Point. And, if I were on a date w/ my DH (& I only had 1 night), I'd choose either California Grill or Narcoossee's (at the Grand Floridian).

* If you switch your date night to a different night (maybe your AK day), you could go to WCC for dinner on this day. You could even go to Fort Wilderness for lunch - the buffet at Trails End. Fort Wilderness would be a fun thing for your kids - playground, horses, etc. Or, keep WCC for lunch & plan Hoop Dee Doo at Fort Wilderness for dinner. (Hoop Dee Doo is 2 TS credits though.)

Day 7 (DHS Day & EPCOT Evening) - This day looks good. We prefer Sci-Fi to Prime Time. And, if you change to a CS restaurant, our kids really like Toy Story Pizza Planet. If you do decide to change Chefs de France to Coral Reef on your other EPCOT day, you could do Chefs de France for dinner here instead of Via Napoli.

Day 8 (Departure Day) - Looks good! Again, I would only do Chef Mickey's one time - and lunch w/ Mickey would be a good "last hurrah!"!

For reference, on our upcoming trip, we have the DxDP, & I have the following meals planned: (Our kids are older, so I only have 3 character meals planned this time, but, when they were younger, we typically did 5 or 6 character meals/trip.)

Day 1 (MK) - counter-service (breakfast), either counter-service or Tony's (lunch), & CRT (dinner)

Day 2 (DHS & Boardwalk) - counter-service (breakfast), Sci-Fi (lunch), & either Cape May or Flying Fish (dinner)

Day 3 (EPCOT, Future World) - GF Cafe (breakfast), Seasons (counter-service lunch), & Kona Cafe (dinner)

Day 4 (AK Day) - counter-service (breakfast), Yak & Yeti (lunch), & Boma (dinner)

Day 5 (MK & MNSSHP Day) - snacks in room (breakfast), WCC (lunch), & counter-service or Plaza (dinner)

Day 6 (EPCOT, World Showcase) - Chef Mickey's (breakfast), Cantina de San Angel (counter-service lunch), & Tutto Italia (dinner)

Day 7 (EPCOT & DTD) - snacks in room (breakfast), Coral Reef (lunch), & RF Cafe, Wolfgang Puck or T-Rex (dinner)

Day 8 (MK) - Crytal Palace (dinner), Plaza or Tony's (lunch), & 'Ohana (dinner)

Day 9 (MK & Departure) - counter-service (breakfast) & LTT (lunch)

Obviously, I still have to finalize our plans!

Anyway, have fun choosing!! That's one of my favorite parts of our Disney trip planning!!

 

[MistressMerryweather]

The thing that stands out to me isn't the too much food, but rather the running from one TS to another. Dh and I did deluxe dining for 5 days without the kids, and on the days that we had 3 TS planned, all we did was run from one to the other. You really have *very little* time to do anything else. It really sounds doable, but once you are there doing it, it doesn't seem to work. By the time you grab a fast pass, ride a ride, change the baby, use your fast pass, change the 2yo, feed the baby, it's time to head over to your ADR.
Plus, you may find that it's a little different then feeding the kids 3 meals sitting down at home. Going from one different TS setting to another is difficult for little ones.
If you decide to stick with your plan, make sure you ask for your check as soon as you have ordered your food or sit down at a buffet.
We try to do that with the kids so we can leave when we are ready. There is nothing worse than a cranky baby and a restless 2yo, tired and ready to leave and you are stuck waiting for the waitress to come back with your check...then your card and signing. BTDT at nearly every TS with our 3 kids. LOL

 

[mouseverse]

I noticed that the times aren't listed, so you might have already done what I am about to suggest.

What works for me is spreading the meals out as far as possible, or booking a breakfast and signature dinner.

For example, a 7:30 breakfast, 1 pm lunch, and 8:30 pm dinner.

 

[nushiekitty]

We just made our reservations for our trip in September and we are also on the deluxe meal plan. We made TS reservations for 3 meals a day for most days. We did this for a few reasons, the first is our kids love character meals, secondly it gives us a break from the heat and allows them some quieter time, third they normally eat three meals so this is ideal otherwise we will just need to buy them snacks. My kids are going to be 2 and 4 for this trip. The one thing we do try to minimize is leaving a park, so for instance we try to make our breakfast reservation for 8 at the park we are visiting so we can enter the parks when they open, then we have lunch at 1230 or 1 in the park and then dinner is often at 530-6 sometimes in the park sometimes along the monorail. We did this same sort of planning last September and it worked out well. I do agree with the PP that said to ask for your check right away as we found sometimes that was very time consuming.

 

[pinkle]

That gives me a stomach ache just reading it! Great restaurants but soooo much food and sooo much time eating. There is so many things to do in Disney you may feel like you've spent too much time sitting in restaurants

 

[mb_uh]

That is how we like our trips.

I find the TS so much more relaxing with the kids and free drink refills. We did bk, lunch, dinner because that is how kids are used to eating and we may split meals sometimes but we like the break. Most meals only took about an hour and we waited a table with drinks instead on in a line. I think it is much less stressful with kids.