Dining Plan Suggestions for April 2015 Trip?

[Newyorkfamily]

Hello, everyone! My husband and I are taking our then 8 year old daughter and our son who will be celebrating his 5th birthday while we are at Disneyworld in April 2015. Unfortunately the trip is over spring break so we know it will be packed! We purchased the Basic Dining Plan and will be staying for 5 nights. My kids are early birds so we're not planning on any late dinners. We're planning to go to each of the parks for one day (we got the basic, not park hopper option). Any suggestions for the best use of the Dining Plan credits? Any can't miss options for kids their ages? Our daughter is past the princess stage so we don't need any princess character meals. Thank you all for sharing your wisdom and advice!!!! We appreciate it!!!

 

[PEC]

Surprised she is past the Princess stage.
MK That said Chef Mickey's (Contemporary close to MK) would work as would Chrystal Palace (within MK). Whispering Canyons has a lot of interaction between Waiter/Waitress and the table (boat ride from MK at WL).

DHS My children enjoyed Sci-Fi Diner at DHS. We are going to do 50s Primetime the next time we go to DHS.

EPCOT - Havie not been to Coral Reef but your children should like it. Biergarten in Germany would work also. Take the Princesses out of it and Askerhus is still my favorite Restaurant and I think your children would enjoy it. Side note. Askerhus highest price that is still 1 TS.

AK - A little tricky. Rainforest Cafe my family likes but many places have one close by. Boma at AKL gets great reviews. I am in the minority of the minority of individuals that do not see that it is special. It is buffet with some food possibly too exotic for your children but they have some standard food choices for children.
You are somewhat similar to my plans in that normally do not park hop. Keep resorts in mind, especially ones close to the Park you will be at on a given day.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

When we went this year we ate at several different places that I would suggest.

1900 Park Fare for dinner. I know you said your daughter is past the princess stage but this place has Cinderella and her evil step sisters and her evil step mom and the characters are really into their characters, lol. That being said my 7 year old son had an absolute BLAST at this dinner. My 8 month old son caught the eye of 1 of the step sisters and she was just all over him, lol...even gave him a red lipstick mark on his forehead. It was so funny I had to take a picture of it.

Chef Mickeys. This is always a go to option for us. My kids love Mickey and we always stay at the Contemporary so its a must do. But I would recommend their breakfast instead of their dinner. Their dinner is not as good as their breakfast.

Crystal Palace. Again this is a must do for us, both my kids are HUGE tigger fans. But I would also recommend them for breakfast. Its a plus to have an early reservation and get access to walk down main street without a mob of people and get your family photos infront of the castle without a mob of people as well.

Hollywood & Vine. This is a good place for youngsters that love Disney Junior. Both my kids love Sophia, Doc, and Jake from Disney Junior so this was a fun meal. The characters are only there for Breakfast and Lunch though. We went for breakfast and had an early ADR so we got access into DHS early before a mob of people.

For our next vacation also April of 2015 we are excited to try a few new places. Sci Fi Dine In we are looking forward to. My 8 year old son likes the fact that we eat in cars, lol. We are also hoping to get reservations for Be Our Guest and Cinderellas Royal Table. Hope you have fun picking out places to eat. I think thats one of my favorite things to do, lol. I love deciding where we are going to eat!

 

[Newyorkfamily]

Wow! You are all so helpful and knowledgeable! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to give such thoughtful answers. Any other insider tips or words of wisdom would be most appreciated! We arrive on a Monday and leave on a Saturday (during spring break!). Our daughter will be 8 and our son is celebrating his 5th birthday while we're there! We're staying at Port Orleans and got the basic Dining Plan. Thank you all so much for your guidance!!!!

 

[deb010305]

Just a question, is your spring break at the beginning of April - the week after Easter; or is it the middle/end of April ? We're in Massachusetts and ours is the week of April 19, which is not very crowded.

 

[Newyorkfamily]

Thank you all for the super helpful suggestions and responses! We will be there 4/5-4/10 so during Passover/Easter week (ugh!). Any additional suggestions would be most appreciated! Than you for taking the time to respond!!!

 

[StirlingSilver83]

our spring break is the week after easter but crowd levels are suppose to at like an 11 that week plus its literally $1000 more expensive to go that week, and the week after is suppose to only be a crowd level 4. Luckily our son is only in 2nd grade and really advanced for his age, so we are pulling him out of school to go the week of the 12th. His teacher said she would give him a packet of stuff to do on his way down. Last year we pulled him from school as well and his teacher gave him a journal and he had to write in the journal every night saying what he did and also when we did world showcase at epcot he had to ask the kid stop people 1 fact about their country and write that in his journal as well. So even though we pulled him from school he still got extra credit for his journal and he also had a packet of math and spelling work to do. I am assuming it will prolly be the same type of stuff next trip as well.

 

[Mikie]

I like character meals for use of dining plan credits because they are pricier then menu locations (therefore a better "value" for using your dining plan credit). I also like the variety offered and the chance to calmly meet a few characters in air conditioning vs spending park time in line to meet them.

AK - love Tusker House food and it's classic characters (Donald, Mickey etc in safari outfits)

Epcot - I love Akershus breakfast and meeting the princesses there - my girls liked it as well, even when they were no longer crazy about princesses. Garden a Grill is delicious, unique because it is a rotating restaurant with views of the Living with the Land ride, and has Chip and Dale and Donald and Goofy in farmer outfits.

MK - nearby in the Contemporary resort, but not in the park Chef Mickey is a great way to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy
Whispering Canyon Cafe in Wilderness Lodge, short boat ride from MK, is a lot of fun. No characters but good food served family style and silly antics like a horse ride around the restaurant with the kids using stick horses and shenanigans when anyone at any table requests the ketchup. Plus the lodge is gorgeous to see.

DHS - 50s prime time cafe is home style food in a setting that's supposed to look like a 1950s home kitchen. The servers treat you like family, even telling you to eat your veggies before you get dessert and scolding you for elbows on the table. It's fun and kids get a kick out of seeing mom or dad get scolded.