Dining Agenda SOS!

[Sherry E]

I am having a heck of a time with figuring out our dining and Priority Seating arrangements for this upcoming October 2 - 5 DL trip. I used to be really good at planning and figuring, but not anymore! I either don't have the patience for it, or I stare at facts and figures and my brain just locks up. I am trying to base where we eat on our previous dining habits and when we tend to get hungry, and figure out schedules that way. But then I find myself in a conflict over which restaurant to eat in at what time! It is too confusing! One thing I know is that we have to have PS's this time, as we just wasted TOO much time in line last year on both trips.

This much I know for SURE - We will be eating at Goofy's for a big breakfast on the morning of Friday, October 3rd. We won't need lunch that day. That is set in stone! But, I have to decide on dinner for the night of Thursday, October 2, after we arrive, dinner for Friday the 3rd, breakfast on Saturday the 4th and also either a late lunch or early dinner on the 4th. Then, we have breakfast on the 5th to deal with and them we are homeward-bound. ALSO, we are squeezing in a sit-down, table service dessert-only meal somewhere in there, on one of those days, and I am not sure which place has the best assortment of desserts for that!

The restaurants we are considering for any of these dinner, breakfast or dessert meals are: Carnation Cafe, Rainforest Cafe, WIne Country Trattoria, ESPN Zone, Storytellers Cafe, River Belle Terrace, Naples, and possibly Blue Bayou (but dessert-only if we do that; it is just that they don't have a wide variety of desserts and the best choice is that Flying Dutchman). We have had good experiences at all of these places in the past, but have never tried ESPN Zone, which looks to have some great desserts!

So I was thinking:

Thursday, Oct. 2
Dinner: Naples or ESPN Zone

Friday, Oct. 3
Breakfast: Goofy's Kitchen
Dinner and/or dessert: Carnation or Blue Bayou

Saturday, Oct. 4
Breakfast: River Belle Terrace or Whitewater Snacks
Late lunch/early dinner and dessert: Wine Country Trattoria, Storytellers OR ESPN Zone

Sunday, Oct. 5
Breakfast: Rainforest Cafe
Take-home lunch: pizza from Naples/Napolini

Does this sound reasonable? Does anyone have any better suggestions for switching these choices around based on time, crowds, price, food choices, whatever? I need guidance. I can't decide. I am so confuuuuuuused

 

[ballarinamom]

On your first night are you going to the park? If not, I might consider Goofy's for dinner as they have great prime rib and other yummy stuff. Do Minnie's for breakfast on the 3rd so you'll already be in the park. We like to grab a muffin in line and then do Minnie's at 10:30 for the last seating.
Definatley do the BB and we love Wine Co Trattoria. The food and ambiance is really nice. Just my opinion! Have great trip!

 

[Sherry E]

On your first night are you going to the park? If not, I might consider Goofy's for dinner as they have great prime rib and other yummy stuff. Do Minnie's for breakfast on the 3rd so you'll already be in the park. We like to grab a muffin in line and then do Minnie's at 10:30 for the last seating.
Definatley do the BB and we love Wine Co Trattoria. The food and ambiance is really nice. Just my opinion! Have great trip!

Thanks for the reply and the suggestions, Ballarinamom! No, as far as I know, we will not be going into DL or DCA on the night of Oct. 2. In fact, if we were in the park for three days, I would work in Minnie's on another morning! We like the Goofy's breakfast better than the dinner, so that is why that one is set in stone pretty much. But you are right - there is an advantage to already being in the park and not wasting too much time eating in the morning. I thought about doing Minnie's on the morning of the 4th, but we are being joined by other friends that day for either lunch or early dinner, so if we pig out on another buffet on that morning, we won't be hungry by the time the others join us! I liked Wine Country Trattoria a lot and wanted to go back again and try that orange sorbet, but I don't think my friend liked WCT as much as I did, unfortunately. And if we do the BB, it would only be for the dessert, and they don't have a real extensive dessert menu so I have to decide if it is worth it to make that the only dessert meal and not somewhere else, based on what I have seen and heard of the cookie boat!!! Decisions, decisions.....

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

Hi Sherry !!

For Dinner on the second night I like both choices, but you will have to choose one. The Pluses for Carnation Cafe is you'll be able to see the parade and it will be less expensed. The Pluses for the Blue Bayou is the environment and the food, although it will be more expensive. It kind of depends on what you're aiming for for that night.

For Dinner on the third day, I say skip Storyteller's. The food is great, but over priced.

Everything else, I think is great ! I hope you have an awesome time

 

[Sherry E]

Hi Sherry !!

For Dinner on the second night I like both choices, but you will have to choose one. The Pluses for Carnation Cafe is you'll be able to see the parade and it will be less expensed. The Pluses for the Blue Bayou is the environment and the food, although it will be more expensive. It kind of depends on what you're aiming for for that night.

For Dinner on the third day, I say skip Storyteller's. The food is great, but over priced.

Everything else, I think is great ! I hope you have an awesome time

Hi! You are not kidding about Storytellers being overpriced - well, it is not that Goofy's ISN'T overpriced, but it is tried and true for us since 1992 and we love going there. But at ST, one may as well order the breakfast buffet because the off-the-menu meals are just five bucks cheaper, or less! I have eaten at ST a couple of times, once for the buffet and once last year for the off the menu stuff. We went there specifically so one friend could just eat oatmeal if she wanted and the rest of us could get a buffet if we wanted. When I saw the price of my All American Breakfast, I thought I may as well have gotten the buffet! Plus, we didn't know all of the characters that came by. ST would be the lunch OR dinner on the 4th - depending on when the other friends show up to meet us. I would just as soon choose Wine Country Trattoria, but it is possible the others want to eat OUT of the park. I really like that Matterhorn sundae at Carnation, AND that apple pie a la mode, so even if I didn't eat dinner there on the night of the third, I could still manage to force myself to scarf down some dessert Thanks for the tips, Jasmine! I appreciate it! I wish your group and my group were going on the same weekend, rather than one weekend apart! I would love to meet you and your family and see your shirts up close!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I love carnation cafe for breakfast and lunch...Ive never done dinner there because they close so early...have you looked into what time they will be closing on the day you are interested in? If your going to do naples one night then I would forego napolini...now this is just my personal experience but it too could be come yours whenever I eat at Riverbelle for breakfast the food stays on my stomach the entire day...up until the evening and then I can eat dinner its the same when I eat McDonalds breakfast sheesh so if you are going to do Riverbelle, not knowing how it will affect your tummy I would go along with your current plan of doing breakfast and then having a late lunch/early dinner...

I agree with ballerinamom on doing GK the first night you are in town..its a perfect way to get your vacation started and no rushing feeling or tiredness from being in the park all day

for the 4th, if you dont think your friend will like the trattoria (which for the life of me I cant figure that one out) then do espn that night

on the day you leave then I would do napolini...that actually sounds good right now

 

[avalon451]

Hi, Sherry,

Your Saturday breakfast was what I wondered about. I'm thinking RiverBelle Terrace is going to be very busy on a Saturday mornng, so either do the Whitewater Snacks, or choose Blue Bayou for your Friday night dinner choice, and save Carnation for that Saturday breakfast. That way you have PS's, since RBT is counter service.

I think I'd want to experience BB at least once. Show up 15 minutes early for your PS and request waterside, maybe? You might have a bit of a wait, but it could be worth it!

You better move quick though, you're getting close!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

oh and if you do GK for dinner instead of breakfast, may I suggest either doing carnation cafe or going over to pacific wharf in DCA and getting either breadbowl filled with eggs and 2 bacon slices atop or the HUGE croissant breakfast sandwich and you can sit by the water

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

Hi! You are not kidding about Storytellers being overpriced - well, it is not that Goofy's ISN'T overpriced, but it is tried and true for us since 1992 and we love going there. But at ST, one may as well order the breakfast buffet because the off-the-menu meals are just five bucks cheaper, or less! I have eaten at ST a couple of times, once for the buffet and once last year for the off the menu stuff. We went there specifically so one friend could just eat oatmeal if she wanted and the rest of us could get a buffet if we wanted. When I saw the price of my All American Breakfast, I thought I may as well have gotten the buffet! Plus, we didn't know all of the characters that came by. ST would be the lunch OR dinner on the 4th - depending on when the other friends show up to meet us. I would just as soon choose Wine Country Trattoria, but it is possible the others want to eat OUT of the park. I really like that Matterhorn sundae at Carnation, AND that apple pie a la mode, so even if I didn't eat dinner there on the night of the third, I could still manage to force myself to scarf down some dessert Thanks for the tips, Jasmine! I appreciate it! I wish your group and my group were going on the same weekend, rather than one weekend apart! I would love to meet you and your family and see your shirts up close!

ME TOO !!!

Oh well. We'll meet eventually, I know it ! I did like that characters walked around ST, although it is pricey. If it works out for you though, do it ! I like to enjoy as much as possible

Sorry, OT but I'm actually designing new shirts for this year. I did the shirt designs on illustrator, and I'm painting them myself so they will not look the way they were designed, but they are a good idea of what they will look like :

This is the template I made for the last shirts:

 

[Sherry E]

I love carnation cafe for breakfast and lunch...Ive never done dinner there because they close so early...have you looked into what time they will be closing on the day you are interested in? If your going to do naples one night then I would forego napolini...now this is just my personal experience but it too could be come yours whenever I eat at Riverbelle for breakfast the food stays on my stomach the entire day...up until the evening and then I can eat dinner its the same when I eat McDonalds breakfast sheesh so if you are going to do Riverbelle, not knowing how it will affect your tummy I would go along with your current plan of doing breakfast and then having a late lunch/early dinner...I agree with ballerinamom on doing GK the first night you are in town..its a perfect way to get your vacation started and no rushing feeling or tiredness from being in the park all day ...for the 4th, if you dont think your friend will like the trattoria (which for the life of me I cant figure that one out) then do espn that night...on the day you leave then I would do napolini...that actually sounds good right now

Hmmm... you have me thinking now. Actually all Disney breakfasts tend to sit like a lump in my stomach and I am not even remotely hungry again until evening, sometimes not even then. If Carnation closes early (I forgot about that fact), then I would feel forced to eat dinner earlier than I may be hungry for. Hmm....something to ponder. Maybe I will just choose Carnation as the dessert meal and skip the dinner or breakfast there. I liked Wine Country Trattoria (yummy meatball sandwich) but when I suggested to the friend with me last year that we go back and eat a second time there, she nixed it. Usually, she is gung ho to eat at Carnation multiple times but not so with WCT! I tend to burn out on Carnation if we eat there too many times in one trip. I thnk the other friends joining us would enjoy WCT.

Hi, Sherry,

Your Saturday breakfast was what I wondered about. I'm thinking RiverBelle Terrace is going to be very busy on a Saturday mornng, so either do the Whitewater Snacks, or choose Blue Bayou for your Friday night dinner choice, and save Carnation for that Saturday breakfast. That way you have PS's, since RBT is counter service. I think I'd want to experience BB at least once. Show up 15 minutes early for your PS and request waterside, maybe? You might have a bit of a wait, but it could be worth it! You better move quick though, you're getting close!

Thanks, Gail - I know! I am in a race against time to make these plans! I have been to Blue Bayou, although it was decades ago. I could stand to skip it this trip but my friend wanted to see it, as she has never been inside. But neither of us wants to actually eat a full meal there - only dessert. Actually I have only not been to ESPN or Whitewater Snacks. Whitewater may be good for a light breakfast on the 4th, so that we can pig out for lunch OR dinner later on. And you are 100% right, now that I think of it - it makes NO sense to do River Belle Terrace for breakfast and waste time in line when we cannot even get a PS for that. Better to do Whitewater or eat somewhere we can get a PS on the 4th.

oh and if you do GK for dinner instead of breakfast, may I suggest either doing carnation cafe or going over to pacific wharf in DCA and getting either breadbowl filled with eggs and 2 bacon slices atop or the HUGE croissant breakfast sandwich and you can sit by the water

Okay, Lynn - now you just had to go and tempt me with the bread bowl idea!!!! All right. I have heard of this breakfast bread bowl. Does it ONLY have eggs and bacon or does it come with cheese too? I am not a big cheese person, so I would only want it if it had just eggs and bacon. That actually sounds like a good idea for the morning of the 4th, I think. Hmmm....Thanks so much for the yummy suggestions - and for making my decisions more difficult!!!

 

[Sherry E]

ME TOO !!!

Oh well. We'll meet eventually, I know it ! I did like that characters walked around ST, although it is pricey. If it works out for you though, do it ! I like to enjoy as much as possible

Sorry, OT but I'm actually designing new shirts for this year. I did the shirt designs on illustrator, and I'm painting them myself so they will not look the way they were designed, but they are a good idea of what they will look like :

This is the template I made for the last shirts:

You did them on Illustrator? Cool! You are very talented! I still love the 'trick' of the shirt from last year - you can't even notice it up close; only far away! Have you ever worked on that Adobe InDesign program? I worked a bit on it at the last 6-month job I had, and it took me about six months to feel comfortable with doing anything on it, and just as soon as I felt okay working on it, the job ended! Now I would probably have forgotten what I learned if I had to work in it again! It is so different from what I am used to wroking in - MS Word, Excel and Word Perfect!!!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Hmmm... you have me thinking now. Actually all Disney breakfasts tend to sit like a lump in my stomach and I am not even remotely hungry again until evening, sometimes not even then. If Carnation closes early (I forgot about that fact), then I would feel forced to eat dinner earlier than I may be hungry for. Hmm....something to ponder. Maybe I will just choose Carnation as the dessert meal and skip the dinner or breakfast there. I liked Wine Country Trattoria (yummy meatball sandwich) but when I suggested to the friend with me last year that we go back and eat a second time there, she nixed it. Usually, she is gung ho to eat at Carnation multiple times but not so with WCT! I tend to burn out on Carnation if we eat there too many times in one trip. I thnk the other friends joining us would enjoy WCT.

see now arent you glad I brought that up??? well the way I look at it is if the majority of your group want to do WCT and only 1 person doesnt I would go with the majority rules type of thing...surely your friend can find something there...gosh doesnt she like italian?? haha as if.....

Okay, Lynn - now you just had to go and tempt me with the bread bowl idea!!!! All right. I have heard of this breakfast bread bowl. Does it ONLY have eggs and bacon or does it come with cheese too? I am not a big cheese person, so I would only want it if it had just eggs and bacon. That actually sounds like a good idea for the morning of the 4th, I think. Hmmm....Thanks so much for the yummy suggestions - and for making my decisions more difficult!!!

actually no they dont come with cheese...it just has the eggs in the breadbowl and 2 pieces on top like an X and they give you a few pieces of fruit...its soooooooo good....and your very welcome haha

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

You did them on Illustrator? Cool! You are very talented! I still love the 'trick' of the shirt from last year - you can't even notice it up close; only far away! Have you ever worked on that Adobe InDesign program? I worked a bit on it at the last 6-month job I had, and it took me about six months to feel comfortable with doing anything on it, and just as soon as I felt okay working on it, the job ended! Now I would probably have forgotten what I learned if I had to work in it again! It is so different from what I am used to wroking in - MS Word, Excel and Word Perfect!!!

Oh I LOVE inDesign ! I'm actually using it on this pro bono project I'm doing for a community theatre. I'm creating flyers to promote their musical productions. If there is any text to a layout I'm working on, I'm using inDesign. Its amazing I took a class last year dedicated to inDesign (had to for my major) and I didn't want to take it at all. Once I finished, I was so glad I did. Adobe is a really fantastic company, they do EXCELLENT work !

 

[Sherry E]

see now arent you glad I brought that up??? well the way I look at it is if the majority of your group want to do WCT and only 1 person doesnt I would go with the majority rules type of thing...surely your friend can find something there...gosh doesnt she like italian?? haha as if.....

actually no they dont come with cheese...it just has the eggs in the breadbowl and 2 pieces on top like an X and they give you a few pieces of fruit...its soooooooo good

My friend likes Naples, and she also ate the meatball sandwich at WCT, but for whatever reason, she didn't want to go back. She didn't say why, but that led me to believe she didn't like it. There were certainly other things on the menu there, so it is not like she is forced to get the sandwich. That orange sorbet looks so good! I may just go with what I think the overall group will want.

I think you sold me on the bread bowl at Pacific Wharf, now that I know there is no cheese in it! I need a lot of protein early in the morning, but if I eat breakfast on the 4th, then I don't want to stuff myself with a buffet and then have to eat lunch at 1 p.m. or 2p.m. I think the bread bowl might be a perfect idea! Okay, change of plans! PW is not table service, right? It is walk up and order? It will probably be less corwded than River Belle over in DL, because I would bet that many people don't even realize they can get breakfast items at PW.

 

[Sherry E]

Oh I LOVE inDesign ! I'm actually using it on this pro bono project I'm doing for a community theatre. I'm creating flyers to promote their musical productions. If there is any text to a layout I'm working on, I'm using inDesign. Its amazing I took a class last year dedicated to inDesign (had to for my major) and I didn't want to take it at all. Once I finished, I was so glad I did. Adobe is a really fantastic company, they do EXCELLENT work !

If I ever find myself having to work on InDesign again, I am coming to you with questions! I was so mad that just as soon as I started to feel comfortable on it, the job ended! I still had not mastered it, but I could do the basics necessary for the job I had!

 

[disneegrl4eva]

My friend likes Naples, and she also ate the meatball sandwich at WCT, but for whatever reason, she didn't want to go back. She didn't say why, but that led me to believe she didn't like it. There were certainly other things on the menu there, so it is not like she is forced to get the sandwich. That orange sorbet looks so good! I may just go with what I think the overall group will want.

I think you sold me on the bread bowl at Pacific Wharf, now that I know there is no cheese in it! I need a lot of protein early in the morning, but if I eat breakfast on the 4th, then I don't want to stuff myself with a buffet and then have to eat lunch at 1 p.m. or 2p.m. I think the bread bowl might be a perfect idea! Okay, change of plans! PW is not table service, right? It is walk up and order? It will probably be less corwded than River Belle over in DL, because I would bet that many people don't even realize they can get breakfast items at PW.

nope its a CS and usually its not crowded in the am because everyone is running over to ride TS and I love it because I can take my food over and sit down at a table over the water...its so nice...

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

My friend likes Naples, and she also ate the meatball sandwich at WCT, but for whatever reason, she didn't want to go back. She didn't say why, but that led me to believe she didn't like it. There were certainly other things on the menu there, so it is not like she is forced to get the sandwich. That orange sorbet looks so good! I may just go with what I think the overall group will want.

I think you sold me on the bread bowl at Pacific Wharf, now that I know there is no cheese in it! I need a lot of protein early in the morning, but if I eat breakfast on the 4th, then I don't want to stuff myself with a buffet and then have to eat lunch at 1 p.m. or 2p.m. I think the bread bowl might be a perfect idea! Okay, change of plans! PW is not table service, right? It is walk up and order? It will probably be less corwded than River Belle over in DL, because I would bet that many people don't even realize they can get breakfast items at PW.

I really wanna try the bread bowl at the Pacific Wharf too ! Although, being not too far away from Monterey and Santa Cruz, I searched and picked out my favorite Clam Chowder. I'm hoping its great

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I really wanna try the bread bowl at the Pacific Wharf too ! Although, being not too far away from Monterey and Santa Cruz, I searched and picked out my favorite Clam Chowder. I'm hoping its great

how far are you away from Santa Cruz???? do you go there alot??? I freaking love it there...I love to get up really early and drive over there and go to this place downtown called Zacharys for breakfast...the line is out the flippin door and they serve you the best coffee(get it yourself) while you wait...and they make their own bread for your toast ...oh man its awesome...and I love going over to capitola too...thats the best little town...have you ever done shadowbrooks??? oh i just love those 2 towns

 

[wazowskiLOVER:)]

how far are you away from Santa Cruz???? do you go there alot??? I freaking love it there...I love to get up really early and drive over there and go to this place downtown called Zacharys for breakfast...the line is out the flippin door and they serve you the best coffee(get it yourself) while you wait...and they make their own bread for your toast ...oh man its awesome...and I love going over to capitola too...thats the best little town...have you ever done shadowbrooks??? oh i just love those 2 towns

I live in San Jose, so its a little bit away.. not too far though. I've never been to shadowbrooks. What is it ?


I love getting Clam Chowder at Fisherman's Grotto on the wharf in Monterey. Its my faaaaave Clam Chowder. mmmmm.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I live in San Jose, so its a little bit away.. not too far though. I've never been to shadowbrooks. What is it ?


I love getting Clam Chowder at Fisherman's Grotto on the wharf in Monterey. Its my faaaaave Clam Chowder. mmmmm.

its a restaurant and you have to go up to it in a ski cable car...menu is never the same....

http://www.shadowbrook-capitola.com/