Critique my dining itinerary (and help me with Hoop Dee Doo)

[YYC-Rob]

Hi all,

My family, consisting of DD(9), DS(7), DM, DGm, and myself, will be heading down to the Beach Club for a 14 night stay next summer. We are travelling during what is traditionally Free Dining time. We intend to take advantage of this and actually upgrade to the DxDP. This means we will have roughly 42 dining credits to use during our stay. I know we are a ways off but, planning and thinking Disney helps me stay sane and gives me something to daydream about. Our plan for the average day is to attempt to rope drop a park, leave after lunch and take a break at our resort or a waterpark, then return for or after dinner for a few more attractions and night time shows. Days with no breakfast we will just eat simple things in our room.

Here is the plan I came up with.

Arrival - Cape Mae Cafe for dinner buffet - if flights and everything are perfect we should arrive around 6pm. After a day of travel, eating in our resort will be perfect for our crew.

Day 1 MK - Cape Mae Cafe(breakfast), Crystal Palace(lunch), Be Our Guest(dinner) - we will be up early with excitement so an early breakfast is perfect. Crystal Palace is nostalgic for my mother and I who went 17 years ago (the last time I was at WDW). Be Our Guest for dinner because it will be magical to eat in Bella and Beasts castle

Day 2 AK - Tusker House for lunch and Tiffins for dinner. Both our in our park so it will be easy to get to. Cant wait to try Tiffins!

Day 3 Epcot - Biergarten for lunch and Yachtsman SH for dinner. Again, easy to get to both these. I'm skeptical of the SH because we have very good beef in Alberta and I very much enjoy the way I prepare it on the BBQ. I generally avoid ordering steak when out but this will hopefully blow my mind and expand the ways I prepare steak at home.

Day 4 rest day - Trattoria El Forno breakfast. Rapunzel is my daughters favorite. Sanaa for lunch because I want an excuse to take my kids over to the AKL to see the resort and the animals. Later dinner and Ohana and then we will stay and watch the fireworks across the water (if we are allowed to loiter).

Day 5 DHS - Sci Fi Dine in for lunch. I showed a picture of it to my son and it blew his mind. Brown Derby for dinner so my wife can have the Cobb salad, which is her favorite type of Salad. Again both are in the park of the day so getting around is easy.

Day 6 AK - Yak and Yeti for lunch because its in park. Jiko for dinner.

Day 7 Rest day - Morimoto for lunch because its a single credit and I love Iron Chef. The BOATHOUSE for dinner. This will obviously be our Disney Springs day

Day 8 MK - Kona Cafe for lunch. Im not sold on this but i've heard good things and its probably easy to get to from MK. Hoop Dee Doo Music Review for dinner!

Day 9 Epcot - Food and Wine will have started (if the dates are similar to this year) so we can do lunch around the world. Dinner at Artists Point. I dont want to miss Artists Point and Im hoping taking the monorail from epcot to MK then a boat to Wilderness lodge isnt too crazy. Maybe we will splurg for a Minnie Van

Day 10 Rest Day - Homecomin' cause a rest day feels like a good day to drive 500 lbs of comfort food into myself. California Grill for dinner. CG is one of my must dos.

Day 11 DHS - 50's Prime time for lunch. My wife and daughter have Celiac Disease and after I said the words "Gluten Free Friend Chicken" this became a must do. Flying Fish for dinner. Its close to our resort and I love seafood.

Day 12 Split AK/Epcot - Coral Reef for lunch because I think the idea of eating down in the aquarium is awesome. Monsieur Paul for dinner.

Day 13 MK - Lunch in Cinderella Castle, more for the memory than the food. Dinner at Narcoosee's/Citricos. Chose this because its close by, we may not want to leave MK long on our last day.

Day 14 - leave

So I'm not sure anyone will actually bother to read all that but, it felt good to type it all out! Makes me even more excited.

Quick questions - how ridiculous is it for us to do a place like Jiko or Ohana on a non-park day? If we don't use a Minnie van is it feasible to bus to the nearest park then bus to the resort with our ADR?

I've heard really good things about the Hoop Dee Doo Music Review. Where would you fit it in? Im having trouble taking anything out. Maybe Narcoosee's (is it too similar to Citricos?) I'm also worried about getting to the Fort Wilderness campgrounds.

Thanks for reading!

*Edited to:
- get in Hoop Dee Doo in place of Citricos or Narcoosee's
- Dropped the second Tusker house and Akershus(because we have Be our guest and cinderella) for Monsieur Paul

 

[Shanti]

Hi all,

My family, consisting of DD(9), DS(7), DM, DGm, and myself, will be heading down to the Beach Club for a 14 night stay next summer. We are travelling during what is traditionally Free Dining time. We intend to take advantage of this and actually upgrade to the DxDP. This means we will have roughly 42 dining credits to use during our stay. I know we are a ways off but, planning and thinking Disney helps me stay sane and gives me something to daydream about. Our plan for the average day is to attempt to rope drop a park, leave after lunch and take a break at our resort or a waterpark, then return for or after dinner for a few more attractions and night time shows. Days with no breakfast we will just eat simple things in our room.

Here is the plan I came up with.

Arrival - Cape Mae Cafe for dinner buffet - if flights and everything are perfect we should arrive around 6pm. After a day of travel, eating in our resort will be perfect for our crew.

Day 1 MK - Cape Mae Cafe(breakfast), Crystal Palace(lunch), Be Our Guest(dinner) - we will be up early with excitement so an early breakfast is perfect. Crystal Palace is nostalgic for my mother and I who went 17 years ago (the last time I was at WDW). Be Our Guest for dinner because it will be magical to eat in Bella and Beasts castle

Day 2 AK - Tusker House for lunch and Tiffins for dinner. Both our in our park so it will be easy to get to. Cant wait to try Tiffins!

Day 3 Epcot - Biergarten for lunch and Yachtsman SH for dinner. Again, easy to get to both these. I'm skeptical of the SH because we have very good beef in Alberta and I very much enjoy the way I prepare it on the BBQ. I generally avoid ordering steak when out but this will hopefully blow my mind and expand the ways I prepare steak at home.

Day 4 rest day - Trattoria El Forno breakfast. Rapunzel is my daughters favorite. Sanaa for lunch because I want an excuse to take my kids over to the AKL to see the resort and the animals. Later dinner and Ohana and then we will stay and watch the fireworks across the water (if we are allowed to loiter).

Day 5 DHS - Sci Fi Dine in for lunch. I showed a picture of it to my son and it blew his mind. Brown Derby for dinner so my wife can have the Cobb salad, which is her favorite type of Salad. Again both are in the park of the day so getting around is easy.

Day 6 AK - Yak and Yeti for lunch because its in park. Jiko for dinner.

Day 7 Rest day - Morimoto for lunch because its a single credit and I love Iron Chef. The BOATHOUSE for dinner. This will obviously be our Disney Springs day

Day 8 MK - Kona Cafe for lunch. Im not sold on this but i've heard good things and its probably easy to get to from MK. Citricos for Dinner. Again easy to get too and the menu looks great.

Day 9 Epcot - Food and Wine will have started (if the dates are similar to this year) so we can do lunch around the world. Dinner at Artists Point. I dont want to miss Artists Point and Im hoping taking the monorail from epcot to MK then a boat to Wilderness lodge isnt too crazy. Maybe we will splurg for a Minnie Van

Day 10 Rest Day - Homecomin' cause a rest day feels like a good day to drive 500 lbs of comfort food into myself. California Grill for dinner. CG is one of my must dos.

Day 11 DHS - 50's Prime time for lunch. My wife and daughter have Celiac Disease and after I said the words "Gluten Free Friend Chicken" this became a must do. Flying Fish for dinner. Its close to our resort and I love seafood.

Day 12 Split AK/Epcot - Tusker House Breakfast for the characters in AK. Coral Reef for lunch because I think the idea of eating down in the aquarium is awesome. Akershus for dinner, again for the characters and the food.

Day 13 MK - Lunch in Cinderella Castle, more for the memory than the food. Dinner at Narcoosee's. Chose this because its close by, we may not want to leave MK long on our last day.

Day 14 - leave

So I'm not sure anyone will actually bother to read all that but, it felt good to type it all out! Makes me even more excited.

Quick questions - how ridiculous is it for us to do a place like Jiko or Ohana on a non-park day? If we don't use a Minnie van is it feasible to bus to the nearest park then bus to the resort with our ADR?

I've heard really good things about the Hoop Dee Doo Music Review. Where would you fit it in? Im having trouble taking anything out. Maybe Narcoosee's (is it too similar to Citricos?) I'm also worried about getting to the Fort Wilderness campgrounds.

Thanks for reading!

Yes, I'd definitely replace Narcoose's with Hoop Dee Doo. You can take a boat from Magic Kingdom to get to Fort Wilderness. That will drop you off within walking distance of Pioneer Hall, where Hoop Dee Doo takes place.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

You do have a Tusker House breakfast and lunch. If you're really wanting both the breakfast and lunch food, make an adr near the end of breakfast and you'll start out with bfast foods and then they will bring out lunch selections. Since it's the same characters at all meals, I probably wouldn't go there twice.

 

[YYC-Rob]

Yes, I'd definitely replace Narcoose's with Hoop Dee Doo. You can take a boat from Magic Kingdom to get to Fort Wilderness. That will drop you off within walking distance of Pioneer Hall, where Hoop Dee Doo takes place.

Awesome. I think I'll swap Citricos to the final day where Narcoosee's is and put Hoop Dee Doo in its place on day 8. That feels like it will go wel. Thank you for the tip regarding the boat. I didn't know there was a boat to fort wilderness from MK. *edit* I wonder if it's a mistake to swap citricos for narcoossee. It's tough to decide which to drop. I'd also like to try and fit Monsieur Paul in there.

You do have a Tusker House breakfast and lunch. If you're really wanting both the breakfast and lunch food, make an adr near the end of breakfast and you'll start out with bfast foods and then they will bring out lunch selections. Since it's the same characters at all meals, I probably wouldn't go there twice.

I was worried about the double Tusker house and agree with you, I need to change one of them. I was trying to stick to table service for lunch at AK but we could try something different. Maybe lunch at flame tree BBQ or the new pandora QS sat'uli. Another option would be to keep the lunch and maybe do breakfast at captains grille. Are there any other good breakfasts for a single credit in AK?

 

[LindySpirit]

This looks awesome! Hoop Dee Doo is ribs, fried chicken, strawberry shortcake served family style. With celiac I am sure they will accommodate you, but there won't be a big menu to order from.

 

[Parker Clan]

I agree about making a swap for Hoop Dee doo! It's a must do Disney experience IMO! We go every year
Your plan looks great though, have a magical time!

 

[Shanti]

This looks awesome! Hoop Dee Doo is ribs, fried chicken, strawberry shortcake served family style. With celiac I am sure they will accommodate you, but there won't be a big menu to order from.

My son is gluten-free and has always been well accommodated at Hoop Dee Doo. You get a gluten-free brownie instead of the strawberry shortcake, I think.

 

[Skippyboo]

Going to Ohana and Jiko is relatively easy since they are close to a park. You can just take the bus to AK and then bus to AKL. It's only a short bus ride to the hotel. Then you can take the MK bus from AKL if you don't want to go back to your hotel or you can take the bus back to AK and connect to BC or go from AKL to HS and boat/walk back to BC.

 

[YYC-Rob]

OK so I edited the itinerary to get Hoop Dee Doo in. Ultimately this means we have to drop another signature dining experience. I was, at first, leaning towards Narcoosee's but its tough to get lobster where I am from so I may decide to keep that and drop Citricos. Which would you guys drop?

I also dropped the second Tusker House and changed Akershus to Monsieur Paul. As noted in my edit notes, I'm comfortable dropping Akershus because we will be doing Cinderella Castle.

Regarding the Gluten Free at Hoop Dee Doo. I read a couple reviews from other Celiacs who have eaten there and like Shanti said, they were well accommodated.

Thank you Skippyboo. It seems like the bus hubs give plenty of options to get us around. I hadn't thought of taking a bus to DHS from a resort then doing a quick boat ride back from there.

 

[dclpluto]

Sounds good to me. Good job eating a buffet for lunch with tiffins at dinner. Since tiffins you don't get much to eat.

 

[CTrumble]

I've never eaten two meals the same day at Disney Springs. Are you really planning on spending a whole day there?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I just feel like I need to say - that's a lot of food and a lot of time traveling and eating. If that's what you want to do on your vacation, by all means, but I just feel like I should put that out there. Your plans will really cut into park time and any resort time you might be planning. I'm also wondering about your rest days - you are staying at BC, but it doesn't seem you will be taking advantage of the pool, arguably one of the best on property. On day 4, it seems you are traveling to 3 different resorts to eat, on day 7, you will be in DS all day and on day 10, you have lunch in DS and dinner at Poly. Again, unless you are planning on using uber or the Minnie Van, that's a lot of traveling just to go to restaurants. I would also caution about leaving MK so much for meals on your MK days. Traveling around WDW takes a lot of time. WDW suggests allowing 90 minutes using WDW transportation to get from place to place and, in many cases, this isn't far fetched. It once took us almost two hours to get from BC to Cali Grille using Disney transportation. If you really want to eat at all of these places, I highly suggest utilizing uber or the Minnie Vans.

 

[stickeymouse]

I just feel like I need to say - that's a lot of food and a lot of time traveling and eating. If that's what you want to do on your vacation, by all means, but I just feel like I should put that out there. Your plans will really cut into park time and any resort time you might be planning. I'm also wondering about your rest days - you are staying at BC, but it doesn't seem you will be taking advantage of the pool, arguably one of the best on property. On day 4, it seems you are traveling to 3 different resorts to eat, on day 7, you will be in DS all day and on day 10, you have lunch in DS and dinner at Poly. Again, unless you are planning on using uber or the Minnie Van, that's a lot of traveling just to go to restaurants. I would also caution about leaving MK so much for meals on your MK days. Traveling around WDW takes a lot of time. WDW suggests allowing 90 minutes using WDW transportation to get from place to place and, in many cases, this isn't far fetched. It once took us almost two hours to get from BC to Cali Grille using Disney transportation. If you really want to eat at all of these places, I highly suggest utilizing uber or the Minnie Vans.

I was thinking the same exact thing.. do NOT become victim of your own scheduling! Leave some days free of reservations and just go with the flow. There are so many places you can just walk in without a reservation and experience. And feel free to use some of your dining credits on unscheduled QS meals. As you will be upgrading from the complimentary dining, don't feel the need to constantly "maximize" the value of your plan by restricting yourself to signature and TS restaurants. Eat what you want, when you want it. As much as I love to eat, when we went with the deluxe dining plan, it was a bit too much table time on many days, especially with two young kids in our party. By the end of our trip, we gladly went with easier options over the more fancy things. We even let a few credits go unused and didn't regret it one bit. And like DisneyWishes said, it becomes a hassle to have to travel far across property just for a meal, especially with children and a grandmother in your party.

 

[YYC-Rob]

I just feel like I need to say - that's a lot of food and a lot of time traveling and eating. If that's what you want to do on your vacation, by all means, but I just feel like I should put that out there. Your plans will really cut into park time and any resort time you might be planning. I'm also wondering about your rest days - you are staying at BC, but it doesn't seem you will be taking advantage of the pool, arguably one of the best on property. On day 4, it seems you are traveling to 3 different resorts to eat, on day 7, you will be in DS all day and on day 10, you have lunch in DS and dinner at Poly. Again, unless you are planning on using uber or the Minnie Van, that's a lot of traveling just to go to restaurants. I would also caution about leaving MK so much for meals on your MK days. Traveling around WDW takes a lot of time. WDW suggests allowing 90 minutes using WDW transportation to get from place to place and, in many cases, this isn't far fetched. It once took us almost two hours to get from BC to Cali Grille using Disney transportation. If you really want to eat at all of these places, I highly suggest utilizing uber or the Minnie Vans.

I was thinking the same exact thing.. do NOT become victim of your own scheduling! Leave some days free of reservations and just go with the flow. There are so many places you can just walk in without a reservation and experience. And feel free to use some of your dining credits on unscheduled QS meals. As you will be upgrading from the complimentary dining, don't feel the need to constantly "maximize" the value of your plan by restricting yourself to signature and TS restaurants. Eat what you want, when you want it. As much as I love to eat, when we went with the deluxe dining plan, it was a bit too much table time on many days, especially with two young kids in our party. By the end of our trip, we gladly went with easier options over the more fancy things. We even let a few credits go unused and didn't regret it one bit. And like DisneyWishes said, it becomes a hassle to have to travel far across property just for a meal, especially with children and a grandmother in your party.

These are great points. I don't really have an idea of the travel time between resorts. We are staying for a full 2 weeks so I'm not worried about leaving parks for meals and pool time, in fact I kinda planned on leaving the resort before or after lunch and returning for or just after dinner. The time in between will be at storm along bay or at a water park. I have no problem paying for Minnie vans or Uber if we feel we need it. I should also probably mention times to give some context of time.
The couple breakfasts will likely be booked for around 7 am, FP+ booked for 9,10,11 which I will roll into an available FP for after dinner, Lunch around 1130, and finally, dinner around 530.
This gives us around 4 hours between our average lunch and dinner. That feels like enough time to relax at the pool. It will be super hot still when we go (end of August into start of Sept). I want us to avoid the max heat and crowds of the day around 12-5. If we tried to go rope drop to close we would all be dead by the end of the trip.

To address DisneyWishes14 specific examples...
On day 4 we will likely eat breakfast around 830. Trattoria el Forno is at boardwalk which is a short walk from BC from what I gather. After that we can hope the bus from BWI to AK then AKL. Ive heard there is plenty to do there that will fill a morning of fun. Lunch at Sanaa say 1230ish and then we would hop the bus to a waterpark. The intent for Ohana is too eat later around 730. Would taking a bus to MK (or TTC) then boating over to poly really take 90 minutes? I may re-think dinner if that is the case.

On day 7 I intended for us to be in Disney Springs from lunch until dinner. Is this too long a period? We could just go to a waterpark for the morning and skip Morimotos.

Day 10 - Again this is a rest day. We can do an early 11 am lunch after SAB, hit up a waterpark and have plenty of time to travel for a dinner to contemporary.

You guys are totally right about not burning ourselves out on my scheduling. I have no problem cancelling reservations if my family is feeling overwhelmed with the plans. Last thing I want to do is make things a bummer!

 

[stickeymouse]

Also, I think it's worth mentioning to have a backup plan in case free dining isn't available for the weeks you are going. Every year, there is speculation that it will no longer be offered, and it seems Disney restricts the offering more and more every year. I would just hate for you to put all your eggs in one "free dining" basket, so to speak. But if you're prepared to buy the plan with or without Disney's help, then this is a moot point.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

These are great points. I don't really have an idea of the travel time between resorts. We are staying for a full 2 weeks so I'm not worried about leaving parks for meals and pool time, in fact I kinda planned on leaving the resort before or after lunch and returning for or just after dinner. The time in between will be at storm along bay or at a water park. I have no problem paying for Minnie vans or Uber if we feel we need it. I should also probably mention times to give some context of time.
The couple breakfasts will likely be booked for around 7 am, FP+ booked for 9,10,11 which I will roll into an available FP for after dinner, Lunch around 1130, and finally, dinner around 530.
This gives us around 4 hours between our average lunch and dinner. That feels like enough time to relax at the pool. It will be super hot still when we go (end of August into start of Sept). I want us to avoid the max heat and crowds of the day around 12-5. If we tried to go rope drop to close we would all be dead by the end of the trip.

To address DisneyWishes14 specific examples...
On day 4 we will likely eat breakfast around 830. Trattoria el Forno is at boardwalk which is a short walk from BC from what I gather. After that we can hope the bus from BWI to AK then AKL. Ive heard there is plenty to do there that will fill a morning of fun. Lunch at Sanaa say 1230ish and then we would hop the bus to a waterpark. The intent for Ohana is too eat later around 730. Would taking a bus to MK (or TTC) then boating over to poly really take 90 minutes? I may re-think dinner if that is the case.

On day 7 I intended for us to be in Disney Springs from lunch until dinner. Is this too long a period? We could just go to a waterpark for the morning and skip Morimotos.

Day 10 - Again this is a rest day. We can do an early 11 am lunch after SAB, hit up a waterpark and have plenty of time to travel for a dinner to contemporary.

You guys are totally right about not burning ourselves out on my scheduling. I have no problem cancelling reservations if my family is feeling overwhelmed with the plans. Last thing I want to do is make things a bummer!

Yes, taking a bus to MK and then boat or monorail to Poly could take 90+ minutes. WDW is bigger than Manhattan and you have to factor waiting for the buses, boats and monorails into your travel time. After our two hour journey from BC to CR we abandoned WDW transportation to get from resort to resort. If we can't directly walk, bus, boat or monorail to where we are going, we use uber. If the wait time for the bus is too long, we use uber.

Personally, I would rethink day 4. Unless you are an AKL resort guest, you will be hard pressed to fill 2 hours at AKL. I would suggest dropping Sanaa this day if you want to go to a water park (you should try to get to water parks early as the lines really build as the day goes on.). It looks like you are planning to go to AKL for Jiko anyway. If you want to eat at Sanaa, I would either do it on the night you have Jiko (choose either Sanaa or Jiko) or the day you have Homecomin' lunch.

Day 7, it will be really hot in DS between lunch and dinner. I would pick one. Either arrive at DS when it opens and stay through lunch/1 pm or arrive at DS around 5 or 6 pm, have dinner and stay through the cooler evening hours. If you want to do a watermark, I would do that first (take uber or Minnie Van) and have dinner at DS.

To each his own, but I have to be honest, this schedule and amount of traveling to restaurants would exhaust me particularly in the August heat. And this is coming from someone with 30+ WDW trips under her belt including 6 during the last week of August.

 

[YYC-Rob]

Also, I think it's worth mentioning to have a backup plan in case free dining isn't available for the weeks you are going. Every year, there is speculation that it will no longer be offered, and it seems Disney restricts the offering more and more every year. I would just hate for you to put all your eggs in one "free dining" basket, so to speak. But if you're prepared to buy the plan with or without Disney's help, then this is a moot point.

Hey StickeyMouse! we 100% are not banking on the free dining being offered. Thing is, its generally not offered for until April of the year you are visiting and ADR for our trip can be booked at the end of Feb. I know its ridiculous early, and my wife thinks I am insane, but I am enjoying the early planning. I want to have an ADR plan in place in time and than if the free dining is not offered I can alter our plan. As a Canadian, it has been offered even longer than it has for US residents, so we are hopeful. It is excellent advice not to count on an offer and I want to ensure you that we are not. If its not offered, I will likely purchase the regular DDP out of pocket and you will see a June 2018 post of "rate my DDP plans!" from me.

Yes, taking a bus to MK and then boat or monorail to Poly could take 90+ minutes. WDW is bigger than Manhattan and you have to factor waiting for the buses, boats and monorails into your travel time. After our two hour journey from BC to CR we abandoned WDW transportation to get from resort to resort. If we can't directly walk, bus, boat or monorail to where we are going, we use uber. If the wait time for the bus is too long, we use uber.

Personally, I would rethink day 4. Unless you are an AKL resort guest, you will be hard pressed to fill 2 hours at AKL. I would suggest dropping Sanaa this day if you want to go to a water park (you should try to get to water parks early as the lines really build as the day goes on.). It looks like you are planning to go to AKL for Jiko anyway. If you want to eat at Sanaa, I would either do it on the night you have Jiko (choose either Sanaa or Jiko) or the day you have Homecomin' lunch.

Day 7, it will be really hot in DS between lunch and dinner. I would pick one. Either arrive at DS when it opens and stay through lunch/1 pm or arrive at DS around 5 or 6 pm, have dinner and stay through the cooler evening hours. If you want to do a watermark, I would do that first (take uber or Minnie Van) and have dinner at DS.

To each his own, but I have to be honest, this schedule and amount of traveling to restaurants would exhaust me particularly in the August heat. And this is coming from someone with 30+ WDW trips under her belt including 6 during the last week of August.

Day 4 - Man, this is tough. We could drop Sanaa from day 4 and just QS at a waterpark. TBH I am not really concerned with breaking even. I will keep track of what we order out of curiosity to see if it would have been worth while, even straight out of pocket DxDP. I don't know how frequent a Disney World trip will be for us, so even if we spend into the red a bit I will be happy. I would rather owe some money coming home than regret a part of our vacation. Having a nice sleep in and a 10 o'clock breakfast then translates into a nice water park day and dinner at Ohana. I'm not huge on the idea of eating at the waterparks, seems tough for gluten free, I'll google it.

Day 7 - Again, I would like to do a water park. We have no real time constraints this day (ie parades or fireworks) other than ADR. What about hitting DS around 10 am and doing lunch when Morimoto opens at 11:30. This gives us a nice sleep in and a couple hours to shop (shopping is not for me btw. I hate shopping). We could head back afterwards and go to a water park with a followed up later dinner around 7. That may be a bigger stretch of time between meals than my kids are happy with though. Whats the travel time from BC to disney springs? Ill have to ask in the BC thread.

Thanks for thinking this through with me.

P.S. I don't hear much about Monsieur Paul. I am going to make a thread asking about people's experiences there.

 

[stickeymouse]

Hey StickeyMouse! we 100% are not banking on the free dining being offered. Thing is, its generally not offered for until April of the year you are visiting and ADR for our trip can be booked at the end of Feb. I know its ridiculous early, and my wife thinks I am insane, but I am enjoying the early planning. I want to have an ADR plan in place in time and than if the free dining is not offered I can alter our plan. As a Canadian, it has been offered even longer than it has for US residents, so we are hopeful. It is excellent advice not to count on an offer and I want to ensure you that we are not. If its not offered, I will likely purchase the regular DDP out of pocket and you will see a June 2018 post of "rate my DDP plans!" from me.

That's good that you have all your ducks in a row. Make sure to use a good travel agent (wink, wink), and they will be sure to apply the free dining to your already-existing reservation should the offer arise. That way, none of your already booked reservations will be affected, and you will still get the deal. I sincerely hope it works out for you!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hey StickeyMouse! we 100% are not banking on the free dining being offered. Thing is, its generally not offered for until April of the year you are visiting and ADR for our trip can be booked at the end of Feb. I know its ridiculous early, and my wife thinks I am insane, but I am enjoying the early planning. I want to have an ADR plan in place in time and than if the free dining is not offered I can alter our plan. As a Canadian, it has been offered even longer than it has for US residents, so we are hopeful. It is excellent advice not to count on an offer and I want to ensure you that we are not. If its not offered, I will likely purchase the regular DDP out of pocket and you will see a June 2018 post of "rate my DDP plans!" from me.



Day 4 - Man, this is tough. We could drop Sanaa from day 4 and just QS at a waterpark. TBH I am not really concerned with breaking even. I will keep track of what we order out of curiosity to see if it would have been worth while, even straight out of pocket DxDP. I don't know how frequent a Disney World trip will be for us, so even if we spend into the red a bit I will be happy. I would rather owe some money coming home than regret a part of our vacation. Having a nice sleep in and a 10 o'clock breakfast then translates into a nice water park day and dinner at Ohana. I'm not huge on the idea of eating at the waterparks, seems tough for gluten free, I'll google it.

Day 7 - Again, I would like to do a water park. We have no real time constraints this day (ie parades or fireworks) other than ADR. What about hitting DS around 10 am and doing lunch when Morimoto opens at 11:30. This gives us a nice sleep in and a couple hours to shop (shopping is not for me btw. I hate shopping). We could head back afterwards and go to a water park with a followed up later dinner around 7. That may be a bigger stretch of time between meals than my kids are happy with though. Whats the travel time from BC to disney springs? Ill have to ask in the BC thread.

Thanks for thinking this through with me.

P.S. I don't hear much about Monsieur Paul. I am going to make a thread asking about people's experiences there.

I love Monsieur Paul. Good food and excellent service!

 

[jimmytammy]

Bear in mind, from my perspective, we have never done the DDP as its way too much food(and I consider myself a foodie). We have done the 3 sq meals things once(1st trip)and my only saving grace was we averaged 8-10 miles of walking per day. So were full most all the time even with tall the walking. So my opinion will be based on eating a lot of food, but if I have a really strong feeling one way or another on any particular place or throw an alternate out there, its the way I roll
Day 1 MK - Cape Mae Cafe(breakfast), Crystal Palace(lunch), Be Our Guest(dinner) - we will be up early with excitement so an early breakfast is perfect. Crystal Palace is nostalgic for my mother and I who went 17 years ago (the last time I was at WDW). Be Our Guest for dinner because it will be magical to eat in Bella and Beasts castle All 3 of these are good choices but thats a LOT of food. If you and your travel mates are well disciplined eaters and can control feeling the buffets need to be indulged , you should be OK.

Day 2 AK - Tusker House for lunch and Tiffins for dinner. Both our in our park so it will be easy to get to. Cant wait to try Tiffins! I have to say, the similarity in these meals is a bit too close for me. I would say skip Tiffins and get something back at resort or DS

Day 3 Epcot - Biergarten for lunch and Yachtsman SH for dinner. Again, easy to get to both these. I'm skeptical of the SH because we have very good beef in Alberta and I very much enjoy the way I prepare it on the BBQ. I generally avoid ordering steak when out but this will hopefully blow my mind and expand the ways I prepare steak at home. Biergarten is a great choice, not sure about Yachtsman but heard great things. Epcot has other great choices if you change your mind about SH

Day 4 rest day - Trattoria El Forno breakfast. Rapunzel is my daughters favorite. Sanaa for lunch because I want an excuse to take my kids over to the AKL to see the resort and the animals. Later dinner and Ohana and then we will stay and watch the fireworks across the water (if we are allowed to loiter). 3 more big meals. Never had breakfast at TEF, but heard good things. Sanaa great choice, we ate there 3 times in May. Make sure you get the full bread service! Ohana was a must do for our family for years, but again, as we age, meals like that don't appeal as much these days. I sound old, but I'm only 52

Day 5 DHS - Sci Fi Dine in for lunch. I showed a picture of it to my son and it blew his mind. Brown Derby for dinner so my wife can have the Cobb salad, which is her favorite type of Salad. Again both are in the park of the day so getting around is easy. Skip Sci Fi an do 50sPTC instead. You can think me later! Seriously, food, atmosphere, fun away better than Sci Fi. Never been to HBD but friends really like it

Day 6 AK - Yak and Yeti for lunch because its in park. Jiko for dinner. YnY is a great go too. Jiko, N/O but same friends that like HBD like Jikos too

Day 7 Rest day - Morimoto for lunch because its a single credit and I love Iron Chef. The BOATHOUSE for dinner. This will obviously be our Disney Springs dayYes, yes, Yes to Morimoto. I am not a big rib fan, but my DS got them last time and I wish I had too! N/O on BH

Day 8 MK - Kona Cafe for lunch. Im not sold on this but i've heard good things and its probably easy to get to from MK. Hoop Dee Doo Music Review for dinner! Yes to both! Kona tends to get mixed reviews but all 3 meals IMO are good here. TE is just flat out fun, and the food is very basic but tasty

Day 9 Epcot - Food and Wine will have started (if the dates are similar to this year) so we can do lunch around the world. Dinner at Artists Point. I dont want to miss Artists Point and Im hoping taking the monorail from epcot to MK then a boat to Wilderness lodge isnt too crazy. Maybe we will splurg for a Minnie Van Remember you can bus direct to WL if needed but if time allows, I like the idea of monorail and esp. boat. AP for us has been yrs since we have been. We have DIS friends who really like AP. I love the WL!

Day 10 Rest Day - Homecomin' cause a rest day feels like a good day to drive 500 lbs of comfort food into myself. California Grill for dinner. CG is one of my must dos. Never been to either one but heard good things on both

Day 11 DHS - 50's Prime time for lunch. My wife and daughter have Celiac Disease and after I said the words "Gluten Free Friend Chicken" this became a must do. Flying Fish for dinner. Its close to our resort and I love seafood.Sorry, I recommended 50s earlier over Sci Fi, though I still stand by this as my opinion. Since you are doing 50s, give Sci Fi a whirl and se which you like better. FF, N/O but agin, friends like it

Day 12 Split AK/Epcot - Coral Reef for lunch because I think the idea of eating down in the aquarium is awesome. Monsieur Paul for dinner. Been to neither but(here we go again)friends like CR. Never heard much about MP

Day 13 MK - Lunch in Cinderella Castle, more for the memory than the food. Dinner at Narcoosee's/Citricos. Chose this because its close by, we may not want to leave MK long on our last day. Only had breakfast at Cindys but enjoyed both times. We went to Narcoosee's or Citric one(which eve one sits out in the octagon shaped building over the water. I can't say as we would ever go back. Nothing very memorable other than a chance for me and my wife to have some alone time. My MIL volunteered to keep the kids in room

Day 14 - leave This is the worst meal of all, avoid this place like crazy I suggest barricading yourselves in the room and refuse to come out(unless the police show up)so as to avoid being banned from WDW for life