Dining while staying at the Fort

[Ntocamping]

We are 4 weeks away from heading to WDW and The Fort for our first trip. DD is 10 and DS is 6 1/2. My wife and I will surprise them on Thursday night when we pull into a CG on our travels to Fla with mickey mouse ears and autograph books. They think we are going to our usual Myrtle Beach jaunt at Ocean Lakes.

Anyways, we get there on Friday and leave the following Saturday(8 nights) and will be in our TT. I have 5 day MYW tickets and plan to do the following:

Saturday-MK
Sunday-HS
Monday-Epcot
Tuesday- Day at Fort and brunch ADR at Chef Mickeys
Wed-MK
Thursday-AK with ADR at Hoop De Doo
Friday-Day at Fort
Saturday early departure.

My question is should I have booked a lot more ADR's. I don't want to be cheap but then again my kids are fine with eating most anything. My wife and I are to so I figured a few QS meals for lunch and dinner at a park or back at The Fort plus eating at our TT would be perfectly fine. Do most Fort folks eat back at the Fort or make ADR's? Will my kids be missing out since we don't have ADR's or is what I read about on this site mostly resort guests that book ADR's since they only have a hotel and not a full kitchen to use to prepare meals. Tks

 

[Ds4angels]

I haven't stayed at the fort yet (looking to in '14) but I can tell you we did QS the whole time we were at WDW and my kids were fine w/ it (DS8 DD5). I guess maybe they didn't know any better They were just so happy to be there they really didn't care what they ate.
When we've camped at other vacation spots we've eaten most nights at the camper, but would buy special snacks when we were out and about to treat. Much cheaper then dinner out and less down time = more park time
We didn't tell our 2 until we got there either and they were so surprised and so excited about being there. You guys are going to have a great time.
Have you looked into prepurchasing the PhotoCD? Well worth it. Just a suggestion since you're guys are close to the age of mine. We got some great shots of the kids waiting to see the characters and getting their books signed

 

[bama_ed]

Ntocamping,

I think you'll get answers across the board here. Personally, I think spending a lot of money for table service meals (which nearly require ADR's these days) is lost when you have young kids as you do.

Some folks who are adult couples don't eat at the trailer because they say, "I'm on vacation" or "I've cooked for years". Familes feeding multiple kids 3-4-5 times a day can get by less expensively by eating breakfast at the camper and using Counter Service in the parks (or we pack a lunch and stash it in a rented locker). That's more what we do given we have three teenagers.

You've got two nice ADRs (the whole family will like HDDR - it's corny fun) so IMO that's enough (unless you have money to burn). Maybe when the kids are a little older and can appreciate nicer food and atmosphere is when you can do a few more TS/ADRs.

DW sounds pretty cool about it. Save some meal money and buy some souvenir just for DW.

Bama ED

PS - if I haven't said it yet, to the DIS Camping Board

 

[North of Mouse]

Agree with Bama Ed on the dining issue.

We fall into the camp of *not cooking* at the Fort. It's my vacation too, and I'm not cooking LOL.

But, a lot of people do cook all, or part of their meals. It's not a one size fits all. Whatever you enjoy, or are comfortable doing is what you should do. After all, it's *your* vacation!

Have a good one!

 

[Ntocamping]

Thanks for the advice. Will stick to original plan and eat QS, meals at camper and bring food into parks. I enjoy grilling at the camper, sipping cold ones and listening to music. Will spend money on other stuff. Tks

 

[Southern Bell]

I think what you have planned sounds great! With your children's ages I would think they would rather be on the rides and eat something quick. The only time I have made more reservations than two(ususally just one) is when I didn't camp and stayed in a Disney hotel with free Dining. We made one reservation a day and don't get me wrong, we enjoyed eating all the different places! But by the end of the week we were a little tired of having to be somewhere a certain time to eat everyday!