DTD and MM questions

[disneymom23]

DD 11 and I are taking a trip August 19-23. We have AP's and are staying at the DLH for the first time.

On the 23rd, we arrive at around 6:00. We like to spend the first night in DTD- dinner, shopping at WOD, dessert at Marceline's. We would like a quick dinner so we can do our stuff and get to bed at a decent time. Any recommendations for dinner?

My next question is about MM. We will be there for 3 MM's. We love the FL rides, Matterhorn and Space. We did Nemo once, and have no desire to do it again. Would you still do all 3 MM's? I feel like if we have them, we should use them, but don't know if there's enough to do. Have any of you done 3 and found enough to do?

 

[bumbershoot]

For a quick dinner, we found the Tortilla Jo's Taqueria window to be good. We just took it back to the hotel as it was far later than expected and DS was fading fast, but there were tables. Really salty though, but we had the vegetarian versions, so maybe their non-veggie beans weren't so salty.

3 MMs is a lot! I think it can't hurt to at least think about doing all 3. Make use of the first two, and if you end up at the 3rd morning and it hurts to think of getting out of bed, at least you'll have taken advantage of those first 2...leave it as an option. That's my opinion at least.

 

[SilentFeline]

Oops, double post. Sorry, I was having computer problems...

 

[SilentFeline]

I have a couple of suggestions. You can go to ESPN Zone and order take-out. It's the closest DTD restaurant to the hotel. They have very decent portion sizes, and even though it was busy when we went in, we received very quick service. Of course, most importantly, the food was delicious. My bf and I ordered the chicken strips and ate them back at the hotel. He was a bit concerned that splitting them would leave him hungry, but they were huge! There were 6 strips for about $10. We saved money on a drink by just splitting a can of soda that we had at the hotel so the meal was very affordable for the both of us. Next time we'll either try the nachos or the quesadillas there. If you want to order take-out, just go to the bar on the left when you walk in and get the attention of the bartender. Let him know you want take-out and he will help you. Menus are on the very end of the bar and you pay on the other side.

I would also suggest Napolini, but only for their baked mac and cheese. It was the best I ever tasted! Super hot, gooey, and very cheesy. The portion they give can be split by two people, but you can also eat the whole portion yourself if you're really hungry. It was about $8 per serving. It's a bit farther away than ESPN Zone, but we liked it so much that we had it twice on our trip.

As for MMs, we used all 3 of ours. We used our first one to take lots of pictures since there are fewer people and you can get some great shots without any strangers in your photos. Plus, the characters sometimes show up near the front entrance and I got to take a picture with Donald Duck (my favorite), and my bf managed to get some great shots of Mickey and Minnie by themselves without us having to wait in line. When we finished taking pics, we just headed over to Fantasyland because those lines were still fairly short. We devoted our next MM entirely to Tomorrowland and we rode BLAB and Nemo (which we also only did once because the line was 40 mins long even on a MM). Then, right when the park opened, we grabbed FPs for Space Mountain and headed over to Indy, HM, and POTC while the lines were still short. Our last MM was spent in Fantasyland, where we took more pics. This plan worked out really well for us, so you can maybe try it.

 

[Sherry E]

I think the 3 MM's would be great to use just from a photographic standpoint alone, if not for the rides or shops. We had never used our MM prior to last December, and when we did, we hit a significant portion of the rides in FL that we had not been on in years (simply due to crowds), and it was a great way to get reacquainted with them and see things we had forgotten about. But if you are an avid DLR picture-taker (and some folks just like to get 'people pictures' with family and not any shots of scenery or the excellent DLR details, etc.), that extra hour of having fewer people cluttering up your pictures is priceless. We even found a couple of extra PhotoPass guys out and about during the MM (one of them was in front of the Rivers of America, an area which would normally be a crowded thoroughfare for people and difficult for photos), whereas they were gone later in the day. But even photographing simple things in DLR like shop/restaurant/attraction/bathroom signs and really taking the time to look at all the details - all the flower beds, all the topiaries, all the edible plants in Tomorrowland, all the statuettes, all the ponds and other bodies of water, all the weather vanes, all the Hidden Mickeys - is a great way to use up a MM. We were just saying over in WazowskiLOVER's Trip Report yesterday that it is exciting to go to DLR and discover new hidden gems and things every time we are there. It never gets old because there is always something new to see that we hadn't noticed before. Sort of like an endless treasure/scavenger hunt.

Also, I agree with SIlentFeline about those ESPN Zone chicken strips - I didn't get take out, but I had them and they are about the size of small chicken breasts and delicious. GRRRRRREEEEAAAATTTT BBQ sauce that comes with them too! Get that and a nice thick milkshake to go and you'll be good! Otherwise, I could be wrong, but I think all or most of the DTD restaurants do some form of take-out. Other than ESPN, Tortilla Jo's and Napolini, I think Rainforest Cafe does take out too, as do the Jazz Kitchen and LaBrea Bakery. Not sure about Catal.

 

[Hound 109]

......3 MMs is a lot! I think it can't hurt to at least think about doing all 3. Make use of the first two, and if you end up at the 3rd morning and it hurts to think of getting out of bed, at least you'll have taken advantage of those first 2...leave it as an option. That's my opinion at least.

I agree.

I'd do the first two for rides & the last one (if you do it) for photos....& save the last 20 min. on that one for Buzz then SM then SM FP.

& since I also would pass on Nemo, I'll offer an opinion on what i'd do if I had two MMs:

First Day

- PP
- Dumbo (unless you're skipping)
- Alice
- Matterhorn 2X
- Carousel
- Pinocchio
- 8am Indy or SM FP
- Storybookland

Second Day

- Matterhorn 2X
- Alice
- Teacups
- Buzz 2 or 3 times.
- SM 2 or 3 times.
- 8am Indy or SM FP
- BTMRR

Of course I'd probably change my mind several times on the above, since i usually do.

 

[Boo Bear]

I agree that MM would be wonderful for photo-ops!

 

[pixiewings71]

For a quick dinner, we found the Tortilla Jo's Taqueria window to be good. We just took it back to the hotel as it was far later than expected and DS was fading fast, but there were tables. Really salty though, but we had the vegetarian versions, so maybe their non-veggie beans weren't so salty.

3 MMs is a lot! I think it can't hurt to at least think about doing all 3. Make use of the first two, and if you end up at the 3rd morning and it hurts to think of getting out of bed, at least you'll have taken advantage of those first 2...leave it as an option. That's my opinion at least.

Molly, the take out window was nasty when we had it too. Salty is a good description and we did not order vegetarian, I also had ummmm "issues" for a couple days after so I wouldn't suggest this one.

I would suggest the Jazz Kitchen Express if you want something quick to go, the food we had there was very very good!! You can also order RFC food for take out.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yeah after we ordered I thought "isn't this the place where people have had problems?" but except for the salt, we were fine. And it was good, for me at least. I had the evil evil mexicone, hubby had some veggie tacos (he was disappointed at the lack of vegetation, LOL), and DS ate much more of his (expensive!) veggie burrito than I ever thought he would. So for us it was a success (except for the salt), but OP and others, definitely weigh your options b/c of the varying success people have had there.

 

[disneymom23]

Thanks for all your replies. I actually wanted to go into DL the first night for dinner but DD doesn't want to. We have always gone to DTD the first night and she is very much a creature of habit. But we have never had AP's before, so that was never a possibility.

I like the idea of using one MM to enjoy an empty park. She loves details, facts and Hidden Mickey's. We could use one MM to just wander and look.

I'm really looking forward to this trip!