dining reservations... so overwhelming!

[alisonslp]

April wil be our first welcome home and I'm trying to line up a character breakfast and then our dinners. We plan to do mostly late breakfasts in the villa and small snacks at the parks, then eat out for dinners. We are going to get the TIWL card instead of the dining plan. So at least I have a plan.

THEN I went online to look at my options. OH MY!!! There's so much! I think we have decided on Chef Mickeys for a character b/c the kids (8,8,5) want traditional characters for this first time. Cape May looked good as well but they wear beach clothes - we saw that on the cruise and the kids thought they looked horrible! So - one ressie done - that is if we can get it.

Now, on to dinner - how do you all decide where to eat? Since we know nothing about the places, it's kind of hard. Originally, we weren't going to make a plan for the parks - just let the kids decide each day and we would just eat wherever there were openings in that park. But I now realize that was a bit naive on my part would be nearly impossible since most places will be booked the day of. Now, I think we will look at which parks are having the EMH at night and plan to eat in that park

So, any recommendations (or links to other threads discussing this, websites, etc) would be great! We are going April 19-24 (sun-fr), after the Easter crowds.

Also, is the booking time 60 or 90 days out?

Thanks
Alison

 

[Moeluv4u7]

We are also taking our first trip in April (12th through 16th) - I just made a Chef Mickey ADR (02-06-09) for 9 PM ressie- we are a party of 7 so I was so excited to get it 1st try! I just wanted to say good luck on getting in!

As far as suggestions... I guess I can't help so much as I have looked extensively at the menus for EVERYWHERE and just chose by what was offered and what I believe we will enjoy eating- That and the atmosphere of the particular restaurant>>>
Our other ADR is for Teppan Edo at Epcot because my DH has never had a hibachi style dinner (nor have my kids) and he really wants this! We will be there at 8:30 PM Wednesday of our stay...

I have either one more 2 TS credit ressie to make which would be Narcoossee's for us- we want the surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail) OR if we opt to do 2 more TS we are thinking Ohana's at Poly and Le Cellier or Ohana's and Coral reef or Ohana's and... see what I mean- so many choices as well- LOL
Good Luck- I hope someone can give you some suggestions but really, go to Dining at the top of these boards, it will take you to the dining page of this site and all restaurants listed you can see all menus>> some have pics of the restaurants etc- maybe going through all of them will help you decide where your family will prefer to eat and then make ADR based on what day you will be in that park or how soon you can get to so and so resort from which park you will be that day, etc>>>

 

[CarolMN]

Moving to Restaurants Forum . . . . . . . . . . .

 

[Inkmahm]

April wil be our first welcome home and I'm trying to line up a character breakfast and then our dinners. We plan to do mostly late breakfasts in the villa and small snacks at the parks, then eat out for dinners. We are going to get the TIWL card instead of the dining plan. So at least I have a plan.

THEN I went online to look at my options. OH MY!!! There's so much! I think we have decided on Chef Mickeys for a character b/c the kids (8,8,5) want traditional characters for this first time. Cape May looked good as well but they wear beach clothes - we saw that on the cruise and the kids thought they looked horrible! So - one ressie done - that is if we can get it.

Now, on to dinner - how do you all decide where to eat? Since we know nothing about the places, it's kind of hard. Originally, we weren't going to make a plan for the parks - just let the kids decide each day and we would just eat wherever there were openings in that park. But I now realize that was a bit naive on my part would be nearly impossible since most places will be booked the day of. Now, I think we will look at which parks are having the EMH at night and plan to eat in that park

So, any recommendations (or links to other threads discussing this, websites, etc) would be great! We are going April 19-24 (sun-fr), after the Easter crowds.

Also, is the booking time 60 or 90 days out?

Thanks
Alison

I'm not sure I can help. A late start after eating "late breakfast" in the villa each day will put you so far behind everyone who gets there for EMH or rope drop that you'll be spending most ofyour days in line at the parks, I think. I'd recommend an earlier start to your day and a break in the afternoon to go back to the villa for a swim or nap with your kids.

I'd suggest getting the book "The unofficial Guide to WDW" to start with. It is great for planning for first time visitors and also has info about restaurants that could help you.

With younger kids, you aen't going to want to be eating dinner at 8 or 9 at night. I'd make ADRs for sure for earlier in the evening. I'm not sure why you want to eat at parks that have evening EMH as those will likely be more crowded than others and with little kids, you won't be there for the EMH anyway.

ADRs are 90 days out except for selected restaurants.

 

[daileyad]

I'm overwhelmed by the dining choices also. I can't even keep them straight in my head. Getting the Disney Guide Book sounds like a good idea to me if they have good info on the restaurants.

 

[brie182]

We love doing Crystal Palace for breakfast before the park opens. Its great to walk in with no crowds and get a picture on main street when it is virtually empty. The food is good and they have a fun parade around the resturant with the kids.

Hoop Dee Doo Review is also super fun and the food is good too.

Good Luck!

 

[Uncle Remus]

Maybe it would help if ya read a few dining reviews, I've got a real long list
of places I'm gonna eat, have to make 3 trips to Disney this year alone.

 

[LVSWL]

Hi! We are going in April also. The first thing that I would do is decide when you want to go to Chef Mickeys and go ahead and try for that ressie. Be flexible with the time, because that might be your toughest one to get.
If you want another character meal, the Crystal Palace in MK is good either for breakfast or lunch or dinner with the Pooh characters. We also like the Plaza restaurant in MK. Try looking on allearsnet.com under dining for the complete list of restaurants and menus in WDW and that might help. Good luck!

 

[alisonslp]

I'd recommend an earlier start to your day and a break in the afternoon to go back to the villa for a swim or nap with your kids.

I'd suggest getting the book "The unofficial Guide to WDW" to start with. It is great for planning for first time visitors and also has info about restaurants that could help you.

With younger kids, you aen't going to want to be eating dinner at 8 or 9 at night. I'd make ADRs for sure for earlier in the evening. I'm not sure why you want to eat at parks that have evening EMH as those will likely be more crowded than others and with little kids, you won't be there for the EMH anyway.

Actually, our kids are accustomed to later dining when we are on vacation. We tend to stay up late and sleep in. We were figuring on visiting a non EMH park through early afternoon, relaxing back at the villa for a while, have 7-8pm dinners and then hitting the EMH parks for night time rides. Obviously we wouldn't stay at MK until 1am but EMH for HS start at 7 and AK is even earlier. And I have heard the nighttime EMH are great for being less crowded, not more.

Thanks for the tip on unofficial guide. I will look into it.

 

[alisonslp]

Hi! We are going in April also. The first thing that I would do is decide when you want to go to Chef Mickeys and go ahead and try for that ressie. Be flexible with the time, because that might be your toughest one to get.

Thanks. Good advice. I plan on calling tomorrow for at least this ressie and then I will call for others as we make decisions. That way I can ensure we at least have the character breakfast.

Alison

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Actually, our kids are accustomed to later dining when we are on vacation. We tend to stay up late and sleep in. We were figuring on visiting a non EMH park through early afternoon, relaxing back at the villa for a while, have 7-8pm dinners and then hitting the EMH parks for night time rides. Obviously we wouldn't stay at MK until 1am but EMH for HS start at 7 and AK is even earlier. And I have heard the nighttime EMH are great for being less crowded, not more.

Thanks for the tip on unofficial guide. I will look into it.

This may sound counter-intuitive, but I'd suggest you avoid the parks which have EMH altogether. Especially the ones that have the morning hours. If y'all can make the sacrifice of early rising, you can see and experience more in the first three hours of park opening than in the rest of the day combined.

I heartily recommend the Unofficial Guide for first-timers. It's a real eye-opener, and invaluable for avoiding crowds and standing in line. The Passporter Guide is terrific, too.

Check this out: www.touringplans.com.

 

[JessJess]

We are going the exact same days and I was just about to ask the same question. We too are clueless about the dining reservations. We did book Chef Mickey's though for April 22nd at 8:30 am. My son also enjoys the traditional characters with their "normal" clothing. I just booked it and barely got a reservation. Good luck!

 

[WrightFamily06]

I would make that Chef Mickey's ressie right away . We are going April 29- May 6 and I was having trouble getting ressie today on the days I wanted them for and times , so it's important that you make your decisions as soon as possible . I have three children also , ages 2,3,5 , here are some of the places we are dinning this trip for dinner 1900 Park Fare,Hollywood & Vine (so we can get early entrance to Fantasmic ),Whispering Canyon Cafe & Grand Floridan Cafe . On past trips we've ate at Boma, Chef Mickey's , Cape May,Crystal Palace, Liberty Inn, and Tony's Town Square they all have great food and our kids never complained that they didn't like any of them . Hope this helps you out & good luck

Here is the link of the Menus for you to look at :

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/dining/disneydining.cfm

 

[carola2]

April wil be our first welcome home and I'm trying to line up a character breakfast and then our dinners. We plan to do mostly late breakfasts in the villa and small snacks at the parks, then eat out for dinners. We are going to get the TIWL card instead of the dining plan. So at least I have a plan.

THEN I went online to look at my options. OH MY!!! There's so much! I think we have decided on Chef Mickeys for a character b/c the kids (8,8,5) want traditional characters for this first time. Cape May looked good as well but they wear beach clothes - we saw that on the cruise and the kids thought they looked horrible! So - one ressie done - that is if we can get it.

Now, on to dinner - how do you all decide where to eat? Since we know nothing about the places, it's kind of hard. Originally, we weren't going to make a plan for the parks - just let the kids decide each day and we would just eat wherever there were openings in that park. But I now realize that was a bit naive on my part would be nearly impossible since most places will be booked the day of. Now, I think we will look at which parks are having the EMH at night and plan to eat in that park

So, any recommendations (or links to other threads discussing this, websites, etc) would be great! We are going April 19-24 (sun-fr), after the Easter crowds.

Also, is the booking time 60 or 90 days out?

Thanks
Alison

I'm going the same week and I was trying to make reservations for breakfast at Chef Mickeys all full.

 

[Bob P]

I'd have to agree with what Inkmahm said above. Alisonslp, you are putting yourself at an extreme disadvantage by getting such a late start.

Also, in the five nights you will be there, EMH will only be three of the five nights. And we have always found that evening EMH are MUCH more crowded than morning EMH.

It is very late for your ADRs. You should call immediately and have backups ready. It is unlikely that you will get anything at Chef Mickey's and if you do it will probably be at an off hour.

Unfortunately, while your kids may be used to staying up late and sleeping in while on vacation, that is not the best way to maximize a trip to WDW.

 

[TnTWalter]

Here's my recommendation.

day 1...Chef Mickey's...get fab 5 out of the way so don't have to wait in line at parks for siggys
day 2 Le Cellier
day 3 Spoodles
day 4 ?? see below for choices
day 5...O'hana breakfast....great farewell breakfast...have as late as possible so you don't have to eat a meal again til home if flying [just snacks, etc.].

90 days is new ADR policy...was 180 days...

IF you can get Le Cellier, that's the one to get...for whatever day you can as you're within your 90 day window.

Dinner TSs are better value.

for CM...Chef Mickey's is wonderful. Gets great reviews. We did it both trips. Try to get that one too.

OK...3 more...stick to 1 TS credits because the 2 TS aren't as good a value unless you have heart set on like CRT but that will be really really hard to get. But so cool to eat in the castle. We did breakfast here and LOVED it [it was still 1 TS then].

Other CM options:

If you want to do princesses but avoid CRT, the princess dinner @ Norway is fun! We really enjoyed it. Lots of princesses and good interaction.

If you have girls and boys, 1900 Park Fare might be nice. Gets great reviews.
I'm going to try to hit it this trip.

We also loved O'hana Character Breakfast. Such fun and good interaction. The dinner is not a CM but gets consistently good reviews [although people who've done it before have complained about new additions/subtractions to menu]. You could time it to watch Spectromagic & Wishes from beach too.

Lots of people always do Crystal Palace as early as possible at MK so they can be in park before opening. And it's Pooh and friends.

Cape May gets good reviews also. Donald and Goofy are the stars...so if you have a DD fan...

What I would also try to do is set a general game plan....then try to match ADRs up. You could check touringplans for best days to visit what park.

Or if you park hop, no worries, just hop at dinner time! You could be at Studios all day and then hop to Epcot for dinner or hit a resort for dinner, etc.

Non CM...just good eats...

Spoodles is consistently popular in DTD. As is Wolfgang Puck Express.

Oh and if you can't get Le Cellier and Coral Reef is 1 TS, go for that. The fish are cool for kids while waiting and food and service great.

Yak and Yeti at AK gets good reviews although supposedly just good chinese food...think PFChang. We did not enjoy Boma.

Studios is not a popular place to eat...I would hit resorts there or hop somewhere else for dinner unless you want to do a fantasmic package.

Epcot has great restaurants...many like the Teppan Edo.

Good luck!

Trish

 

[Colleen27]

I'd just like to offer another perspective on planning your days. We never do rope drop. We aren't morning people and it wouldn't be vacation if we were up at 8 to catch a bus. We still manage to fit in tons of fun and we don't spend our days waiting in line. Use fastpass, enjoy the late evening hours, and don't stress about needing to be early birds to have any fun!

Now, to the dining... What I do is plan my parks for the day and make dinner reservations in/near the park we'll be at on each day. Some good picks that tend to be easier to get, since you're well into the 90 day window for your dates. You're going to need to be really flexible with times/days to try to get Chef Mickey right now, but it is worth a shot. Also, be sure to try again about 40-45 days before you travel, in case people cancel trips right before the penalty date.

MK - The Plaza is good and tends to be an easy ADR to get. Otherwise, look at the resort restaurants on the monorail line. Kona at the Polynesian is excellent, and Ohana is a lot of fun for kids.

Epcot - Teppan Edo is among our favorite Disney restaurants but isn't especially difficult to get. It is a typical Japanese steakhouse - the chef puts on an amusing show and the food is simple but tasty. We also really enjoyed Tutto Italia, though it is a bit pricey if you're paying out of pocket and I'm not sure how hard ADRs are to get there now.

DHS -The food is just okay, but Sci-Fi has such a cool atmosphere that we have to go there every time we have a first-timer along on our trips. There really aren't any great options there anyway, so atmosphere goes a long way. We tend to leave the park for dinner otherwise. ESPN Club (on the Boardwalk) is good bar food and doesn't take ADRs, so that can be a good dinner of last resort if you can't get an ADR anywhere appealing.

AK - We never have dinner at Animal Kingdom because it closes so early (5 normally, 8 on EMH nights). If you can get it, that would probably be a good night for Chef Mickey's.