Critique my dining plan, please..

[Arielismyfave]

ok so I thought I had a solid plan for our character meals and now I'm second guessing...

1) Plaza Inn
When I originally booked Plaza Inn I thought it was a prepark opening (for us non onsite resort folks), only to look this morning and see that is not the case. It is a 8:10 reservation for a 8:00 normal opening.. On a F&W weekend.

So should I keep the booking as is or change it to the latest time possible for breakfast (10:30 I think?)?

2) Ariel's Grotto
We only have 1 day in CA, and I really am torn on keeping this reservation. It is currently at 11:15am for an early lunch. Since we will be let in at 9:00a and the park is open until 8:00p, will this cut too much into our touring?

We do not have hoppers and will spend 2 days in DL and 1 day in CA.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[courtneybeth]

Keep the Plaza Inn and go for the 10:30 breakfast time and ditch the Ariel's Grotto. You can get more out of your ride times and fast passes this way.

You'll also get significantly better interaction with characters at the Plaza Inn - the princesses tend to wave and dash both times we've eaten at the Grotto.

With Food and Wine happening -- eat the treats and enjoy the ambiance!

 

[sherilaine]

We did a 10AM at Plaza Inn on a Saturday - we used our MM and had three hours in the parks to work up an appetite. This was our 3rd time at this character breakfast, with the last two being the very first reservation of the day, and we saw lots and lots of characters. It was good to get some rides in, have some fast passes waiting and go for breakfast - it also kept us full until dinner!

I did not really enjoy Aerial's - the princesses are, well, princessy, and to me it's somewhat boring - they talk very properly and polite and smile, - ugh - no thanks - my DD thought it was okay but she was only 10 at the time so still a bit smitten. Unless you have a young girl who will be full on done up as one of the princesses then it's not worth it as they pretty much yawn through the entire thing!

 

[texasgingerbread]

Agreed with above posters, move your Plaza Inn to 10:30 or 10:40. We did 10:40 and it was the perfect time to take a break. LOVE the characters there...super interactive.

Ariel's Grotto - I would just go see the princesses in FL.

 

[SplashMo]

Move Plaza to later. Works great. If you have park hoppers you could do DCA in the morning and then hit the plaza... Of course non park hoppers work as well...

 

[4Siamese]

Agree with the above...keep and move the Plaza Inn (we really like breakfast there) rezzie and forget the Ariel's. Unless you absolutely must must have the characters at Ariel's I would rather have the day in the park since you only have the 1 day.

Enjoy your trip

 

[MICKEYFIL]

Agree with everyone, but maybe not move the Plaza Inn to the latest possible. I have done this a few times and actually had great success but on my last trip it was extremely busy possibly due to it being on the weekend and while I was able to get and navigate well enough, there were a number of very frustrated people trying to get things sorted out. Add that with the pressure of only having limited time till food and characters are gone and this could be stressful for someone who has never done it before.

Also, when you go in they will try to take your picture by pulling you aside. Unless you want that picture and pay for it, just say no thank you. This will get you through the line to pay faster as you will be paying before you are seated.

Enjoy your trip.

 

[22Tink]

I've never done the Plaza breakfast, but I'd definitely skip Ariel's. The princesses were great with my daughter but the food was awful and the princesses were equally great when we saw them in DL. I wouldn't waste the time especially since you only have one day there. Have fun!