First timer needs suggestions!

[rpadilla]

We are going to Disney May 2nd-8th and are staying at the AK Villas. We are traveling with 6 adults and 6 kids- all under 3. I think we will go to the MK 2 or 3 days and the AK 1 day. We have no dining plan. What are the "must do" resturants? We have never been there, and I do not know where to start with meal planning. TIA for your input!

 

[mbtohill]

6 kids under 3??!!! God bless you and good luck. Best options for you my be buffets given the number of young children. Boma at AK Lodge is a great option. If you are going to AK, Tusker House has a fantastic lunch buffet, always been one of my kids favorites.

At MK, Pecos Bill is a good Counter Service option, Crystal Palace has great character meals and is a buffet. Of course there is always Cinderella's castle and the Princess meals there are a MUST DO.

 

[pixiemeg]

I agree that a couple character meals are a must -- it will save you a lot of time waiting around in lines to meet them too. My families favorite is Crystal Palace but also like Chef Mickey's or the Ohana Breakfast . With 12 and trying to get a May date you may try for 2 groups of 6-- they are going to have to break you in 2 groups more than likely or 2 groups of 4. Grab what reservations you can near the same 15 minutes window and try to get the groups together when you check in. Always search whole group, then 2 groups, then three...

Ohana dinner (it's no character) is also great and you young ones might really enjoy the dinner Hoop de hoo review. Good luck.

 

[kchughes]

Our favorite character meals are breakfast at Akershus for princesses and then 1900 park fare. The castle is neat, but I don't find it worth the price, since you are paying OOP. AUCE and buffets are going to be the easiest with all of those young children. If you have child care one evening and do an adult dinner, I would consider Jiko at AKL or California Grill at CR. We finally broke down and went to California Grill, even tho' I did not believe it was going to be that good. It is THAT GOOD! Expensive, but worth every cent for us.

 

[mdelano4]

Have the 6 little ones been around characters before? Mine were petrified until about 4yo.

If they are okay with characters, Crystal Palace is a must.

 

[joanne312]

Ohana (both breakfast and dinner are great) and Crystal Palace I would definitely do. Boma is nice since you're staying at AKV. Chef Mickey's is great for the characters but the food is not so great and the atmosphere is usually pretty chaotic.

 

[dina7]

A lovely TS restaurant in MK is The Plaza. Not being on the DP, it is more affordable than the other TS places. They have great sandwiches, burgers, salads, soup, ice cream sundaes, shakes etc. & is a lovely, cool, relaxing break from the park. The setting is an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. We love it.
We've also enjoyed Chef Mickey's Breakfast & Crystal Palace breakfast as long as the little ones are comfortable w/ the characters.

 

[msminnieears]

First find out the kids favorite characters. At that age it's usually Pooh, Playhouse Disney characters, and the fab 5. Crystal Palace in MK is a great buffet and has all the Pooh characters. When my kids were that age it was a must. We always start our trip out at Chef Mickey's it is a fun, louder experience with the fab 5. The kids get to dance and spin their napkins. At lunch and dinner they have a sundae bar (my kids favorite). In HS at Hollywood and Vine there is a buffet with Playhouse Disney Characters. Never been to it but friends have with little and said they loved it. Just remember the sooner you book your ressie the better options for times you will have. Good Luck and ENJOY!!

 

[jwfla422]

We are going to Disney May 2nd-8th and are staying at the AK Villas. We are traveling with 6 adults and 6 kids- all under 3. I think we will go to the MK 2 or 3 days and the AK 1 day. We have no dining plan. What are the "must do" resturants? We have never been there, and I do not know where to start with meal planning. TIA for your input!

I definitely agree, the buffets or family style restaurants are a great option especially with 6 kids under 3, what a money saver (they're eat FREE) and with no dining plan you'll be quite happy with that option.

Almost all of the character meals fall in this option which would keep them busy.

As mentioned, CP is a must. It is a very good buffet and has great character interaction. When my dd was little she was afraid of most of the characters except for Pooh and friends (and Mickey). You can even check out the breakfasts or dinners at the MK resorts.

CR-Chef Mickeys (over rated) but a must do with the kids at least once, characters at both breakfast and dinner

POLY-O'hana breakfast has characters, dinner is served family style with coconut races and hoola hoop contests (but with kids under 3 that could be some adult work but it's fun;-) although the waits for this meal lately have been long from what I've been hearing

GF-1900 Pk Fare has both character breakfast and dinner- I prefer breakfast there over the dinner as far as food is concerned (Breakfast is Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins and sometimes the Pooh characters and Dinner is Cinderella characters)

The nice thing about the MK resorts is you can hop on the resort monorail to any of the resorts I mentioned above from MK for an early dinner and then you can either go back to the park depending on the hrs or pick up your bus at MK. Of course you can do the same for breakfast, take the AK bus to MK and then hop on a resort monorail from there and back on after to the MK.