Disney Dining Plan

[1stTimeDisneyer]

We bought the Disney dining plan where we get one counter service meal and one table service meal. Are there any good counter service places we should go? Also are there any great table service places we should go?

I was thinking about the 50's Prime Time Diner, Sci Fi, The Rainforest Cafe (I think that is the name) and the Concourse (Name?) Steak house. Can anyone give my information on them?


This is our first time and I want to make it a great one. Alot of co-workers told me I am going to hate Disney but I do not believe them and want to get the info from the pros... You Gals and Guys!

 

[pixieprincessmom]

The Rainforest Cafe is not on the Dinning plan (I wanted that one too). If you go to the official website you can link to a list of restaurants that are included. I want to try the new counter service in Tomorrowland. I think it's called tomorrowland noodle station. Here are our Table service choices, we have not tried any of them before though:

Epcot- Akershus DD'S love the princesses
MGM- 50's Prime Time
Magic Kingdom- Crystal Palace
Animal Kingdom Lodge- Boma's (heard it is good and want to see the lodge, we are doing this after a day at AK)
Polynesian - Luau (2 credits)

Hope this helped

 

[allaboard]

Everyone will have their favorites for both counter and Table service. Our favorite table service places are Rainforest Cafe, Teppinyaki at Epcot, Cinderella's Castle at MK, Chef Mickey's at Contemporary for Character Breakfast, and Le Cellier at Epcot.

For counter service, one of our favorites is Flame Tree Barbeque at Animal Kingdom.

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Thank You for the info and Please keep it coming We were thinking about that counter service place in AK.

 

[lustergirl]

A good counter service place at AK is Flametree Barbecue. They have barbecued ribs and chicken that are delish. Plus you can get a seat by the river- nice for my family this past year. We also enjoyed the ESPN Club for lunch, Ohana's for dinner, Concouse Steakhouse has awesome prime rib. Last but not least- Casey's Corner at MK- awesome if you like the hot dog and fries scene.

 

[DeborahA]

We used the Disney Dining plan in Nov. We really enjoyed all the places we tried The plan allowed us to be more adventurous with our choices. We really enjoyed the Concourse Steakhouse--they have a Butterfinger cheesecake that I am still thinking about. Also we loved Chefs de France-amazing food and top-notch service. My husband still talks about our meal at Mama Melrose in MGM. I think you will get good and bad reviews here because everyone has different tastes. You should go where you like and then write a review when you return home to let us know what you liked.

I would add--pay attention to your plans for dinner as they relate to the park you will be in that day. i.e. If you are in MGM all day, and have ressies in MK you need to allow plenty of time for trans. Especially if you need to go back to your resort to change. We tried to eat in the park we spent the day in. HTH Deb

 

[gigi1313]

tell me more about your family, what you like, don't like... do you like buffets or sit downs? how 'bout family style service (all-you-care-to-eat brought to your table)... breakfast? lunch? dinner? do you want character meals or high end fancy grown-up meals? entertainment and noise or dark and romantic? where will you be staying? do you have a rough draft itinerary yet? will you want some of the harder to get ressies like cindy's castle or le cellier? and have you checked out any of the menus @ www.allearsnet.com?

i'd be happy to help steer you in the right direction... wdw restaurants offer something for everyone but it's not one-size-fits-all... so, a little background could make a world of difference

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Ok Here is some info about our trip and family.

This is our 4 1/2 yr late honeymoon. We are staying the the All Star Sports Hubby loves football, and the only way he would go.) We are arriving at 10:30am on May 7th Sunday and depart on Sat. 13th at 6:20pm. That way we have most of Sunday and alot of Sat. I was thinking since we will not be there for dinner on Sat we might want to use 2 tables for a sig. So I need advice on that type of place too. We really do not eat seafood since I am allergic. So, we eat everything else, alot of meat. I love steak and so does he. I think a Char. meal would be cool but I do not know how he would like it. One romantic dinner might be nice as a little honeymoon celebration. We do not mind buffet and sometimes they are nice, if they are clean. We were thinking about using our Table meals at dinner and our counter service for lunch. I am working on a sch. but not getting very far, could use help with that too. However I was thinking about just going to Animal Kingdom when we get there since it is by our hotel or maybe MK since I have never been there.

Please let me know if this helped. If you need more info just let me know.

 

[waltdisneyworlddreamer]

I would definitetly go to MK first if you have never been to Disney! There is nothing like that first glimpse of the castle to get you into the Disney magic!! We used our CS for lunch and TS for dinner. I think a good choice for the 1st evening would be either Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary resort. It is a fun character buffet close to the MK. You could just hop on the monorail to get there. OR the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge. It is a very fun place with great skillet entree. It is also close to the MK and you can ride a boat to get there. Don't worry about what your coworkers say, if you do your homework before you go (which you are already) you will LOVE Disney! There is nothing like it!!

 

[gigi1313]

okay, here goes... i'm guessing you are staying at AKL and here are my recommendations...

arrival day/sunday... head right to magic kingdom... one of our fave first night meals is at Liberty Tree Tavern 'cause it gets you in the character mood w/out the hustle and bustle of a buffet! *and* you don't have to leave the park! (if you opt for a fancier meal your first night then you might want to try concourse steakhouse at the contemporary or cindy's castle)... finish off the night watching wishes...

monday... head to epcot... tour future world and world showcase ending in canada for dinner at Le Cellier... counter-service lunch wherever you find yourself whenever you are hungry (or you can do what we do and have counterservice breakfast at your hotel and snack thru the countries for a pseudo-lunch) (if you went for the fancier dinner last night, you might want to try garden grill tonight... it's great fun and good food! there are characters there and the restaurant rotates!)... cap off the evening with illuminations!

tuesday... one of my favorite parks... mgm studios... i highly recommend doing a fantasmic dinner package... we enjoyed mama melroses quite a bit but the menu is limited for the dinner package (so check it out at www.allearsnet.com)... another option is hollywood & vine buffet but there's not much in the way of "atmosphere!" fantasmic is fantastic!

by now you'll probably be ready for a break... so wednesday take a "down" day, sleep in and enjoy your resort... it's truly beautiful... maybe treat yourselves to dinner at boma (outstanding) or jiko (have not been but heard great things... 2 TS credits per person)... do some shopping at downtown disney or maybe visit a water park or disney quest or possibly get a massage or play golf or go to le cirque... there are so many options!

thursday... head to animal kingdom, take the safari ride first thing and have a late breakfast (brunch) at donald's restaurantosaurus... great fun, great food, great character interaction... what's not to like? LOL! then have counter-service for an early dinner... find out when spectro is being shown at MK your week... if it's tonight, go for it!

friday... back to magic kingdom perhaps... or epcot... or mgm... whichever you did not get enough of... even split your day (epcot is typically the park which is open the latest so you might want to start elsewhere and end there)... maybe lunch at primetime or sci-fi... and counter-service dinner at one of the world showcase countries which strikes your fancy...

saturday... checkout day... early breakfast at boma! give your luggage to bell services and go visit the animals one more time... or maybe say g'bye to the castle... whatever you decide, it will have been magical!

hope that helps... i'm sure by may you'll have planned unplanned and replanned a few dozen times... it's always a work in progress 'til the last minute, and even then! LOL!

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

Thanks for the info. it does help. That gives me a great start. Also if anyone else has info please keep it coming.

 

[gigi1313]

andrea, since you've got the "luxury" of time before your trip (i usually plan mine no more than a month or two out), you may want to check out www.tourguidemike.com as he's got a TON of info and has a great "best days for which park" chart and tells why he suggests what he suggests... there is a fee for this site (consider it like buying a guidebook) of about $20