Critique our dining plans?

[RollTideinMD]

2nd plan looks much better, but just an FYI- if you were planning on rope dropping toy story land on HS day, that ADR will actually put you behind the rope drop crowd unless you're planning to be finished and out of there in a half hour, as they normally let the crowds in early and hold them at a certain point closer than where you'll be and I've heard they actually let them onto the rides even before official opening time

I am hoping we will be in and out that quickly, yes. Particularly because we do not care that much about the character interaction here. Does it seem at all possible?

 

[Destinyz12]

@RollTideinMD I've never eaten there but I suppose it's possible if you get seated right away and ask to pay/use your credits right when you get there and only grab a plate or 2 and then leave.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

I highly recommend switching to one table service a day for lunch and one signature a day for dinner and use snack credits or pay out of pocket for a quick service breakfast. 3 reservations a day is simply too many--you'll have to arrive 15 minutes early and it will take at least an hour per meal. You'll spend much of the park day at a restaurant or traveling to a restaurant. Also wanted to note that you'll have 15 table service credits and only 14 used based on your existing reservations. So something like this based on your existing reservations:

Day 1:
Chef Mickey ADR 1:45 (still not sold here) - Lots of better options from a food perspective. If you aren't going to a park then consider a place in Downtown Disney, such as Boathouse. If you plan on going to Magic Kingdom this day then consider lunch reservations at either Kona Cafe or Skipper Canteen
CRT ADR 7:00

Day 2:
The Crystal Palace ADR 8:40 - good chance you'll have to wait a bit to get seated, then a long meal, so you might not be done until 10:30 or so., which means you've spent some of the best park touring time eating instead of hitting the rides. I'd cancel.
BOG ADR 1:00
Liberty Tree Tavern ADR 7:50 - this looks like a Magic Kingdom day, so I'd cancel Liberty Tree and hop on the monorail over to Contemporary and have dinner at California Grill or go to Grand Floridian for dinner at either Citricos or Narcoossee's (all signature restaurants).

Day 3:
Akerhus ADR 8:05
Coral Reef ADR 8:15 - looks like an Epcot day. Several good signature options for Epcot area include Yachtsman or Flying Fish (both a short 5-10 minute walk from Epcot to either Yacht Club or the Boardwalk area) or Le Cellier or Monsieur Paul inside Epcot. All are better options than Coral Reef.

Day 4:
Hollywood & Vine ADR 8:05 (keeping for Rope Drop) - how does this help for rope drop?
50's Prime Time ADR 7:20 - think about switching to Hollywood Brown Derby, a signature restaurant.

Day 5:
Tusker House ADR 8:10
Tiffins ADR 7:50

Day 6:
Ohana ADR 8:40am

 

[DisneyArkie]

When we do deluxe plan we usually eat signature restaurant late at night and do a breakfast or lunch early. No way we can eat all that food 3 times a day. Plus you will be at restaurants more than you want to be...

 

[senadler]

I think you made some good changes and agree with what others have said about adding more signature meals. I also would suggest if you want to do rope drop, start you day with a snack, then do a late breakfast after taking advantage of the low crowds.

On day 3, I would skip Coral Reef. You can see the aquarium from inside the seas, and the food is really not good. For the age of your kids, you should consider Hoop Dee Doo, a great show and good use of two credits.

 

[LovesTimone]

There are 3 dining plan options

DQSDP - which I think is 2 QS - per person per day -

DDP is = 1 table service, and 1 quick service - per person per day...

DDXDP is = 3 meal per person per day - and can be all TS or if you want to mix it up..

So with your description you have booked the DDXDP - Make sure you double check... You don't want any surprise that you weren't expecting in the budget department...

I had a friend that thought they had DDXDP and in reality that only had DDP - When they went over the dinning plan at check in with her, she was shocked and unprepared for the added cost of more meals out of pocket, so then she had to start canceling ADR's so that she would not get charged the 10.00 per person for a no show at the TS options... It wasn't the best way to start their trip...

 

[kboo]

I agree with @GeorgiaHoo - my additional comments in GREEN. I am not a Dining Plan user but have been to most of the restaurants you have listed below.

I highly recommend switching to one table service a day for lunch and one signature a day for dinner and use snack credits or pay out of pocket for a quick service breakfast. 3 reservations a day is simply too many--you'll have to arrive 15 minutes early and it will take at least an hour per meal. You'll spend much of the park day at a restaurant or traveling to a restaurant. Also wanted to note that you'll have 15 table service credits and only 14 used based on your existing reservations. So something like this based on your existing reservations:

Day 1:
Chef Mickey ADR 1:45 (still not sold here) - Lots of better options from a food perspective. If you aren't going to a park then consider a place in Downtown Disney, such as Boathouse. If you plan on going to Magic Kingdom this day then consider lunch reservations at either Kona Cafe or Skipper Canteen I agree; if you want to maximize park time, then consider Skipper Canteen, or the Plaza for lunch. Chef Mickey's is not my favorite for food, and I think it will take far more time than you think to get in or out. I like Kona Cafe, but I think on arrival day I'd minimize travel time and just try to have lunch in the park, even if it means using a TS credit for a counter service place (I know). Maybe even look for lunch around 1pm so you're not still stuffed for CRT.
CRT ADR 7:00 I love CRT. Enjoy!!

Day 2:
The Crystal Palace ADR 8:40 - good chance you'll have to wait a bit to get seated, then a long meal, so you might not be done until 10:30 or so., which means you've spent some of the best park touring time eating instead of hitting the rides. I'd cancel. I'm assuming this is a day the park opens at 9? If so, then I'd suggest going to MK as early as 8am, and spending some time walking down a relatively uncrowded Main St. The photopass photographers will be out, and lines will be short. Even if you don't get Photopass (and I kind of recommend you do, since it's just the 2 of you, but you can also ask the photopass photographers to use your camera), the pictures will be great because there will be a LOT fewer people on Main St. You could also try checking in early in hopes that you get seated a little earlier. We really like CP so I would actually keep this, and try to have a signature dinner instead of LTT.

BOG ADR 1:00
Liberty Tree Tavern ADR 7:50 - this looks like a Magic Kingdom day, so I'd cancel Liberty Tree and hop on the monorail over to Contemporary and have dinner at California Grill or go to Grand Floridian for dinner at either Citricos or Narcoossee's (all signature restaurants). AGREE!! Also, are the shows, etc like the luau or Mickey's backyard BBQ 2 credits? One way to take the sting our of canceling Chef Mickey's is to book Mickey's backyard BBQ - you'll get to meet Mickey and Minnie and several other characters, and have a fun show. The food is nothing to write home about though. And you also get a bonus of taking a boat ride from MK to Fort Wilderness. Or boat ride to Poly and do the luau if that's an option. Another character meal that *may* have availability is 1900 Park Fare, especially later in the evening. That has Cinderella, Prince Charming and the stepmother and stepsisters. The stepsisters are hilarious.

Day 3:
Akershus ADR 8:05
Coral Reef ADR 8:15 - looks like an Epcot day. Several good signature options for Epcot area include Yachtsman or Flying Fish (both a short 5-10 minute walk from Epcot to either Yacht Club or the Boardwalk area) or Le Cellier or Monsieur Paul inside Epcot. All are better options than Coral Reef. But if you're doing it for the aquarium, it is pretty cool. And the food can be hit or miss. We'd avoided going for years because of the bad reviews, and then ended up going in February and had very good food. (We took the server's recommendations.) I know you canceled Biergarten lunch, but it is really fun with kids, and we found it to have surprisingly good food too. If you want to be closer to Future World at that point, maybe see if there are any Garden Grill reservations (or look for cancellations) - again, a better experience meeting Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale, and much more relaxed than Chef Mickey's - and better food, too.

Day 4:
Hollywood & Vine ADR 8:05 (keeping for Rope Drop) - how does this help for rope drop? I agree, this does not help for rope drop unless you plan to eat quickly and be well inside the park by a 9am open? On the other hand, with an ADR this early you also can get some nice pictures on the main drag. Not sure if they'll still be doing Jedi Training when you are going, but this also sets you up to sign up for Jedi training ahead of the crowd. BUT if you are planning to use this to get to Toy Story Land, I wouldn't do it - you're actually on the far side of the park from Toy Story Land. If you bail on the idea of rope drop, you could try for an early breakfast at Trattoria al Forno on the Boardwalk and then walk to HS after. MUCH better character interactions (and the only place you can meet Prince Eric and Flynn Rider) and much better food.

50's Prime Time ADR 7:20 - think about switching to Hollywood Brown Derby, a signature restaurant. Agree, or Flying Fish on the Boardwalk (also a Signature, I think?) which is really good. Depends on your plans that day and whether you will want to stay in HS for Fantasmic.

Day 5:
Tusker House ADR 8:10 (love this - take pictures on the way in)
Tiffins ADR 7:50 I LOVE TIFFINS. It may be my favorite in park restaurant, but now that BOG dinner has its new menu, it may be tied for 1st.

Day 6:
Ohana ADR 8:40am

 

[nkereina]

Day 1:
Chef Mickey ADR 1:45 (still not sold here)
CRT ADR 7:00

Day 2:
The Crystal Palace ADR 8:40
BOG ADR 1:00
Liberty Tree Tavern ADR 7:50

I see you've made some adjustments here, but I agree with PPs that this is still a lot of food close together. It would be hard to be hungry enough for the next meal, and I say that as someone with a big appetite who loves to eat.

We did DxDP on our first trip, and haven't done it again since. I probably would try it again, but I would book TS breakfasts with signature dinners. When we did it, we booked meals at times we generally eat at home, but didn't take into consideration the amount of food and the length of time these meals take. Keep in mind that on DxDP, you EACH receive an app, entree, and dessert. So, that's a three course meal with a serving for each of you - not shared. We never eat that much at home. And being a three course meal, it can easily take 90 minutes or longer not including any wait you have to be seated for a table. That's a lot of time in restaurants and not in the parks.

For Day 1, I would drop Chef Mickey or push it up to 11 at the latest if you can. For Day 2, I would drop Liberty Tree Tavern of the three. I love it there but I don't think you'll be hungry by then honestly. Don't forget you will also have A LOT of snack credits you'll have to fit in too, so maybe using snack credits for a light dinner later on that night might be better.

 

[Lisa F]

Are you doing Coral Reef because of the aquarium? Or because you are "foodies"? If it's because of the aquarium keep it, but if you like good food, it's really mediocre at best in comparison to some better places to eat within Epcot. La Hacienda de San Angel (outside of the pyramid, not within it) has very good food.

I love the food at coral reef. lobster bisque, shrimp and grits and chocolate wave - can't go wrong.