Feb 7-12 trip......first ever visit

[DisneyRookie2007]

This will be our first ever trip. Reservations already made at Pop Century and dining plan has been purchased. We want to make a few dinner reservations, but don't know the best restaurants to go with 2 children (12 and 11 years old). Can anyone suggest places? Do we even need to make reservations? What kind of weather can we expect in February? Thanks

 

[LuvOrlando]

Hi there ,
I've been going this time of year for years because I love the cool weather. That said you should pack for every sort of weather there is from freezing with winter coats or 2 shirts & 3 sweatshirts + gloves + hats to downright warm needing sweatshirts in the AM and then stripping down to shorts & T-shirts in the afternoon (maybe a swim too) & then pulling your sweatshirts back on when the sun goes down.To be honest we only had the REALLY cold experience 1 time out of all the times we've gone, and it was this year. Feb is all over the place. Still, I'd take a cool sweatshirt day over sweating in the boiling heat & rain on really long lines anyday. We'll be there in Feb too Just take enough clothes for every possible combination & you'll be fine.

As for restaurants, you can check out the menu's at http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/ Yes, you will need reservations. Just book your reservations for 15-30 minutes after you think you'll be hungry because they will often seat you if you are early but you won't be as lucky if you're late.

Chef Mickey's buffet in the Contemporary is our family's favorite, just take a bus to the MK & hop on the Monorail to the Contemporary and then return the same way.

At the MGM, Hollywood & Vine buffet for dinner is our favorite restaurant. I love the buffet selection because it allows my kids to pick & choose what they want with no penalty for getting the wrong thing. My kids love to make their own sundaes at the sundae bar (they also have one at Chef Mickey's). Also, eating here for an early dinner will get you a seat in the reserved section & your own enterance for Fantasmic. This is the only restaurant that does not charge more for the 'Fantasmic Package'. Fantasmic is an amazing show with lasers & water that ends the night similar to a fireworks show, but better .

Epcot can be very expensive but the have McDonalds there now. The Coral Reef is nice, & cheaper for lunch or just dessert to get a look inside.

AK has a Rainforest Cafe at the enterance that serves good burgers. I don't care for the rest of the food there since it tends to be very sweet.

Well, that's my 2 cents. Have a fantastic trip whatever you choose to do

 

[drag n' fly]

This will be our first ever trip. Reservations already made at Pop Century and dining plan has been purchased. We want to make a few dinner reservations, but don't know the best restaurants to go with 2 children (12 and 11 years old). Can anyone suggest places? Do we even need to make reservations? What kind of weather can we expect in February? Thanks

We are going on our very first trip too from February 6-15. ADR's are absolutely necessary. Check the restaurant board and get a good planning book and base your decisions on what you want to eat. Our kids are 12, 10 and 4 and we are trying a little bit of everything. The one thing I picked because I really wanted to do it was the gospel brunch at the HOB. Good luck!

 

[swillis]

I can't tell you about the time of year you are going, but I have 2 kids ages 10 and 12.
Our first visit to the world (may 06) we did:

Liberty Tree Tavern; This is a charcter dinner, and hands down, my kids favorite! The food is pretty good, and there is lots of character interaction.

Coral Reef: We all really disliked this restaurant. Thought we would love it because most of us love seafood. I found it to be overpriced, noisy and the food not very good at all. However, if your kids like seafood, and are big aqurium lovers, then give this a try. Most people really like it.

Crystal Palace: We did the character breakfast here. The food was buffet style, and it was average. Not bad, just not great. The character interaction here was slow, so slow that the CM gave us each a free Fast Pass for the wait. It took us almost 2 hours to see the characters, and we ended up leaving before Winnie the Pooh made it over. The price was good though.

Prime Time: This was the runner up for the kids fave! It's good food, and great cast member interaction.

The rest of our meals were counter service (peco bills, pizzafari) and the rest eaten outside the parks.

This June we are staying onsite, so we're doing the DDP. I have ADR's at these restaurants (this is a surprise trip...kids have no idea!)

Le Cellier
Whispering Canyon Cafe
Hoop De Doo
Alfredo's
Chefs de France (my DD 12 has always wanted to try escargot!)
Hollywood/Vine (fantasmic dinner package)
Liberty tree tavern
Crystal Palace (yup, gonna give it another try..this time for dinner)

It's a good combo of nice and fun.

 

[Jennifer Hemric]

We are also going Feb. 7th and staying at POP. Hope to see you there. I have already made ADR'S, but my children are alot younger. Your children might like the Sci-fi Theater.

 

[kellia]

We are going Feb 7-13! Looks like there will be a lot of us there! This is our first trip, too, so I have no advice. Have fun!

 

[MeLaNie9]

We will also be there at that time. In May, we really enjoyed the Kona Cafe for dinner and Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. We also did these character meals : Crystal Palace dinner (food ok, pretty good character interaction), Chef Mickey's breakfast (really long wait to be seated, bad service, long lines to get food, poor/slow character interaction), and Garden Grill dinner (we have always liked this place, good food, good character interaction). In Feb we have decided to try all new places and just made our ADRs (we had no problem getting times and places we wanted at what I thought was a late date).
We chose the places for both our May trip and this upcoming Feb. trip by reading on these boards and looking at the restaurant menus on allearsnet.com.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We also liked the previously mentioned Garden Grill (in Epcot) and Sci-Fi (at Disney Studios). You should know the Garden Grill slowly spins, so don't go on a ride that will leave you queasy right before your meal!

 

[Allieloopy]

We are going to be staying at POP during Feb 7-14th. It is our first time and we have two 8 year old girls.

I read all of the information and basically chose places for fun instead of quality!

We are having dinner with Cinderella at her Gala Feast, Dinner at the Sci Fi Dine In, The Coral Reef, Hoop de Doo and the 50's Prime Time cafe.

We are on the DDP and will have CS and snacks the rest of the time. And I planned for pizza in our room once.

 

[glass slipper girl]

Just wanted to chime in and agree that ADRs are definitely recommended even though early Feb is normally slow. There is a BIG builder's convention at WDW that week that is making resort avaialbility lower than usual. It won't have a big impact on park crowds as the conventioneers will be in meetings all day but they will be eating in the restaurants for dinner so it may affect wait times particularly at resort restaurants. If you have ADRs, that shouldn't be an issue though.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Just wanted to chime in and agree that ADRs are definitely recommended even though early Feb is normally slow. There is a BIG builder's convention at WDW that week that is making resort avaialbility lower than usual. It won't have a big impact on park crowds as the conventioneers will be in meetings all day but they will be eating in the restaurants for dinner so it may affect wait times particularly at resort restaurants. If you have ADRs, that shouldn't be an issue though.

Hope you have a great trip!

So that is the convention that has all the resorts full. Do you know the actual name of the convention &/or where it is actually taking place? I wonder if they have an online itinerary that would warn me what to avoid & when, like free nights would probably keep Epcot busier than normal. Thanks.

 

[glass slipper girl]

No, I don't know any other details on it. Someone for IPO at the GF mentioned it to me that we were overlaping with convention dates by a day or two. I know the GF has a convention center so it may be there...it may be at the CR center, the YC/BC center or even off site but they have rooms blocked on site. I just know she said it was a builder's convention. Sorry I don't have more info! Usually with a convention like that they don't have a schedule where they do anything together as a group unless it's blocked to outside guests anyway. We've been during other big conventions and didn't notice an increase in park attendance but we definitely saw them at the resort restaurants (they had those plastic name tag things around their neck so they were easily identified. ).

 

[OhioFamily]

Thought I'd throw in my $.02 for the dining:

Ohana's (my kids' favorite)
Whispering Canyon
Sci-Fi drive in
Rainforest Cafe in AK is always good

Definately make ADR's. And stop by the Dining board here at DIS for more suggestions

 

[lntsmom]

It was our favorite. Mind you, this was 7 years ago so my info may be waaay outdated, but back then it was a fine breakfast buffet...something for everyone from cereal and fresh fruit to Mickey Waffles. The bonus being that Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto all came directly to our table. No standing in line to meet them!

The CM at Disney Dining gave me a tip and told me she'd book me for the first seating, which was before the park opened. We were in the park eating before the ropes were dropped!

 

[MeLaNie9]

No, I don't know any other details on it. Someone for IPO at the GF mentioned it to me that we were overlaping with convention dates by a day or two. I know the GF has a convention center so it may be there...it may be at the CR center, the YC/BC center or even off site but they have rooms blocked on site. I just know she said it was a builder's convention. Sorry I don't have more info! Usually with a convention like that they don't have a schedule where they do anything together as a group unless it's blocked to outside guests anyway. We've been during other big conventions and didn't notice an increase in park attendance but we definitely saw them at the resort restaurants (they had those plastic name tag things around their neck so they were easily identified. ).

I can tell you that I will be there attending an on-site conference at the YC. It is a national neonatology meeting, I am not sure how many are attending. The conference runs from Feb 7-11 and the sessions are in the mornings with lunch and breakfast provided, so that group of people will also be looking to make dinner ADRs. Like I said, we didn't have any problems making our ADRs just before Christmas for Feb 6-12, but would never have NOT made ADRs (strongly suggested) !!!

 

[coyandrew]

First would be Ohana! It is easy to get to at the Polynesian (take the monorail from MK) and is great for kids. They also have great food in an interesting atmosphere. Second would be the Liberty Tree Tavern. Again, good food and a easily accessible location (which means a lot for those long days). I also liked the buffet at Hollywood and Vine in MGM, as well as Boma at the AKL.

Have fun and relax and enjoy, it is a great time of year!

 

[ndgqmiller]

Our first trip was in Oct and we tried a little of everything.

Chef Mickeys breakfast- Great we loved this and will do again

Cinderella Lunch- Great if you have young girls, but will try a different princess breakfast next time

Coral Reef- It was the best steak in my life. The kids loved the atmostphere

Liberty Tree- My husbands favorite good hearty food turkey, roast, pork, stuffing, greenbeans, mac n cheese, rolls. We will go back

Hollywood and Vine - okay food atmosphere so so probably will not go back

Ohanas - My family did not enjoy the food here, very smoky, but the bread pudding is to die for

Teppenyakis - Japanese food in Epcot good food
Hope this helps and I hope your'e family has a magical time