Do you plan your CS meals?

[liz827]

So... do you?

I have all of our TS meals set and done and I was just thinking for CS, we'd do breakfast at the resort, or if DD isn't hungry she'd have some milk or yogurt and a granola bar (I'll be bringing some of her fav snacks.) Snacks at the parks, when we are hungry and whatever we are around... same for lunch CS.

Should I plan out snacks and CS meals? If so, what should I plan? lol

 

[Pugmalion1]

Aside from scheduling two or three lunches or dinners at table service restaurants that we know that we love, and a couple more here or there at places we have yet to try or would like to give another shot, we don't really schedule our meals, especially places where a reservation isn't necessary.

That being said, we do know that there are a handful of counter service options out there that we'd be interested in checking out if they fit into the right place at the right time. I just think that scheduling counter service sounds too rigid for my tastes and allows more opportunity for you to become a slave to an agenda. That's the kind of stuff that makes a vacation tiring.

 

[Rosetta89]

our family never plans out the CS meals or snacks. We just decide when we are hungry and what we are hungry for at that time in the park and go for it. We think it is more laid back this way. We do discuss the ones we all like in each park before we go so we have a relative idea of our choices and there menus but nothing set in stone.
Magical Wishes

 

[liz827]

our family never plans out the CS meals or snacks. We just decide when we are hungry and what we are hungry for at that time in the park and go for it. We think it is more laid back this way. We do discuss the ones we all like in each park before we go so we have a relative idea of our choices and there menus but nothing set in stone.
Magical Wishes

That's what I was thinking... where ever I am and I'm hungry, that's what I'm going to eat DD doesn't know we're going, so I'm sure she'll have a magical time where ever we eat

I do know there are certain "snack" spots that is a MUST! Just wasn't sure if there was a CS somewhere that is a MUST.

Thanks!

 

[disneybliss2]

Yes, I do. Here's why: on our first trip I looked through all the menus at allears and decided which cs restaurants appealed to us. I read off menus to my family and from there we decided which we would like to try the most. On the last day of the trip, I left it open. Here's where everything went wrong. We spent 25 minutes going back and forth with, "Where do you want to eat? I don't know; what would you like, etc." We ended up in a big grumbly huff w/ one another. It was so much easier when I just told them where we were going. Knowing my family, it's much easier for me to just say, "We're going here." That's not to say I wouldn't be flexible. My kids are only 7 and 3, so I know they'll rely on me. My husband is indecisive which is of no help. I also take into account all of my family's eating likes/dislikes. For us, when I plan out even the CS meals, it eliminates standing there going back and forth trying to decide. It saves us time and energy.

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Not normally.

Last two trips we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan so CS meals were inconsequential.

This time we are trying the Quick Service Dining Plan. So Partially because I love planning but partially because I wanted to make sure that the QSDP made sense for us I did try to think out where we would like to be eating. It is not a time sensitive plan though and it is very subject to change but I do have a very rough draft of the places we are eating and what we will most likely order there.

And in order to maximize the effectivemess of the plan, not waste too much food, and to not come home with tons of snacks (like we have on the past two trips!) we have planned on a bit of sharing and a few TS meals paid for out of pocket. And this is the first time we are back since Tyler is an "adult"
but he does not really eat adulty foods so it was important for me to not be spending too much out of pocket while everyone was satisfied and eating what they like.

I'll let you all know how it goes when I get back in 39 days!!!

 

[ses1230]

We don't plan them, per se. But we do look at the menus and try t find new places to eat. For example, we had never tried Columbia Harbor House until last trip, due mostly to the reviews here. I'm glad we did, because it was a nice light change! Same with Tangierine Cafe, yum!

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

We don't plan our cs but we usually have an idea....it's just not set in stone. Usually we eat breakfast and dinner and only a snack at lunch. If we have a ts breakfast, we do cs dinner. Depending on which park we're in, we usually just know which places work best for us. If we're eating a ts dinner, our cs that day is breakfast at the resort.

 

[Rosetta89]

That's what I was thinking... where ever I am and I'm hungry, that's what I'm going to eat DD doesn't know we're going, so I'm sure she'll have a magical time where ever we eat

I do know there are certain "snack" spots that is a MUST! Just wasn't sure if there was a CS somewhere that is a MUST.

Thanks!

if your hungry your hungry!!
I do not think any of the CS are a MUST.
In EPCOT we really enjoy Mexico's CS and America's Liberty Inn, and Eletric Umbrella.
In HS Pizza Planet, ABC Comissary(which has very limited selection though), and Backlot Express are good.
In AK my personal favorite is the Pizzafari (They have pizza, salads, and sandwiches)
In MK our very favorite is Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. (I actually ate there twice, because me and my best friend loved it there) for me a MUST

Now obviously there are lots of other places too, but those are our favorites! So we go from there and work it out! I love talking WDW food lol

 

[Dani C]

Yes and No

We plan which park/resort we plan to be at and then select a couple of options for that location (i.e Toy Story Pizza Planet and Starring Rolls at Hollywood Studios). That way, depending upon where we are at in the park and whether we feel like a certain item, we always have something in mind and it isn't "decision time" when people are getting hungry/grouchy.

 

[BurghFan111]

we write down 2 options per day for lunch. normall on opposite sides of the park. So for Epcot we always have a WS option and a FW option for that day. We also have nothing better to do with out time.

 

[916chipndale]

i dont plan my counter service meals if my whole family is hungry well just go somewhere and eat its hard to plan cuz u dont know what park your going to be at or when your going to be hungry

 

[mjp12831]

Yes, I do. Here's why: on our first trip I looked through all the menus at allears and decided which cs restaurants appealed to us. I read off menus to my family and from there we decided which we would like to try the most. On the last day of the trip, I left it open. Here's where everything went wrong. We spent 25 minutes going back and forth with, "Where do you want to eat? I don't know; what would you like, etc." We ended up in a big grumbly huff w/ one another. It was so much easier when I just told them where we were going. Knowing my family, it's much easier for me to just say, "We're going here." That's not to say I wouldn't be flexible. My kids are only 7 and 3, so I know they'll rely on me. My husband is indecisive which is of no help. I also take into account all of my family's eating likes/dislikes. For us, when I plan out even the CS meals, it eliminates standing there going back and forth trying to decide. It saves us time and energy.

We also pick which CS we are going to try to eat at - agree with this post, it saves time and decision issues. We know which park we are going to be in, and we looked at menus and reviews to select one for each day. With this, you know what to expect.

You can always change, but I think it's helpful to have an idea going in.

 

[pattyw]

We do plan somewhat. It's good to know what each CS menu is ahead of time so you know where you'd like to eat. It's also good to try to get to a CS at an off time- to avoid the crowds.

 

[HunnyJar]

Well, sort of.. I usually check all the menus of the CS of the park we will be in that day when we plan our TS meals. That way depending on what sort of food my family is interested in we will head off to one of the two restaurants I had written down. Some days my husband and son really want pizza or something like that so it's nice to know where we can head right off the bat.

 

[liz827]

I do know what Parks we're going to be at every day due to our ADR's. Thanks for the input! I'll check out the menus and jot a few down on the maps just so I know what I'm looking at.

Thanks!

 

[Golf4food]

We know where we'll be and we know which one's we like, but we might not plan any further than "on this day we're in Epcot and we'll eat at a CS in the WS if we're in the WS or we'll eat at Sunshine Seasons if we're in FW."

In the MK we almost always eat at CHH. DHS we don't like much of any of the food but do sandwiches at Starring Rolls or maybe a pizza a TSPP.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Sort of. There are certain CS places me make sure we go to, but if we are hungry, we might just pick the nearest place.

 

[GC&S]

We have the regulars we go to but don't plan our day around it. If we are at MK, we know we are going to eat at Cosmic Rays or Columbia House. Epcot is always up for grabs but we have to eat at Sunshine Seasons at least once.

 

[Butta]

Nope. We just find something that looks good when we're hungry.