First timers

[dorisdvu]

What are must see/do shows/restaurants/character meal? There are 3 adults and a 4 year old girl and 7 year old boy. We wll be in March staying 5 nights at the Swan and 2 nights at Portofino Bay Are there any discounts?


I'm thinking: Cinderella's Round Table, Fantasmic Dinner package, Hoop-Dee-Doo (kind of expensive) and Garden Grill.

 

[Grumpy92]

Well you have chosen some very good options and also the most popular. I think you will find HDD a lot of fun for the whole family. As for the Fantasmic pkg I would suggest PT cafe. Your children will enjoy the atmoshere and the food is your basic Mom's favorites.
As for the character meal. I always suggest asking your children what are their fave characters or who is the one character they would like to see. Then use that as your guide on which restaurant to go to. I recently took my friends 4yr old to MK for the first time. His favorite characters are Pooh & Tigger so I knew that Crystal Palace was the perfect place to go. He loved it and it ended up being the best thing we did all weekend.

I am also going to make a few other options and give you a webisite with wdw menus:
www.wdwig.com/menu/menus.htm

Whispering Canyon and Chef Mickey

 

[CamColt]

I agree with Grumpy, you have good ideas there.
While the HDD does seem expensive,if you factor in the unlimited food and drink(and they arent stingy with that), and the show, it actually is quite reasonable. The show is hilarious and the food is great, for what it is(dont expect gourmet).

I dont believe PT Cafe is part of the FDP...only Mama Melrose, Brown Derby, Hollywood & Vine. We have only eaten at MM out of those, but weve been 6 times and only had 1 disappointing meal.

Good luck!

 

[tink85]

OK, for the Fantasmic Dinner Package, I don't believe that the PT is available either but I highly recommend Hollywood and Vine. Even though it isn't a character dinner anymore, it has really, REALLY good food along with a dessert bar where the kids can make their own sundaes piled high with gummy worms and M&Ms to their hearts' content! Also, at MGM, if you can, check out the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for either lunch or just dessert some afternoon. It's the coolest place to eat. You sit in old chevys and watch trailers to old sci-fi flicks. It's just like being at a drive-in movie theater, a feeling I'm sure your kids would love (they also have the neat 'glowing' ice cubes there).The Hoop Dee Doo is an awesome value for what you pay. The show is great and though it's a little corny you will laugh despite yourself and the food is served homestyle with the best strawberry shortcake in the world for dessert. For characters meals, I really like Chef Mickey's and 'Ohana's in the Poly for breakfasts and if you want to do the Garden Grill, I might suggest checking out the Ice Cream Social. We tried it last time and had a blast with the characters and the sundaes are really tasty! Hope this helps! (PS - if you check out the AK, but sure to fit Tarzan Rocks into your schedule...it's a blast!)

Here's a link to my Dad's site, the PS Calculator Wiz, he has review for some of these restaurants and helps you plan when to call!

http://pscalculator.net/index.html