Going to be there for 8 nights...where do we eat!!!??

[nurseypoo5]

Im daunted by all the information and pictures of food on websites..all it does is confuse me and make me hungry! I've never gone on a vacation where i planned our meals first, esp where i dont know what is there and etc.

What if we plan to do epcot and eat there but something happens and we end up elsewhere, are we stuck? Do any of you make duel reservations as a back up incase your "taste" changes when you get there? I have a cell so i can cancel reservations once there.

If anyone wants to just give me a list of restaurants that i shouldnt be missing let me have it

Oh i guess the wine festival is there too...will any of our dining plan work with that or is it better to just graze those? I plan on doing Epcot twice (probably do dinner or a lunch and dinner here), MK twice (probably both meals), AK once (only eat lunch there..probably do a show after...which show should we not miss?), MGM once. Off site we will do Universal studios once, and thats it..we plan one day of rest somewhere in there.

I know in October some places close early, so i know we can eat out of park with AK, and MGM and our day off...so 3 sit down dinners out of park...perhaps a nice dinner at one of the other properties?

I have no ideal of the hours of the parks yet, but i need to make reservations. Which show is a must do..i figure only one is plenty, but not sure if we will do a character meal yet. My youngest son is 10 and i'm betting he wouldnt care if we missed it. (is the mickys breakfast 1 meal or 2 vouchers?)

So sorry this is so long, im so confused!

 

[Christine]

Here's what you do.

Figure out what days you are going to be at Disney. Then decide exactly what days you will be doing each park. There is a website that gives you the "best days" for each park (lowest chance of crowds, etc.--you should be able to find it on the trip planning board). Make a chart of your days and then write in the parks you are visiting on those days. THEN, and only THEN, will you decide on your meals.

For instance, you may decide that you want to try the buffet over at Boma (at the Animal Kingdom Lodge). You would definitely want to do that the day that you are visiting the Animal Kingdom Park. Makes it very easy.

Then, say, you want to do the Hoop Dee Doo Review. A good day to to that would be the day you are at the Magic Kingdom because you can hop on a boat and go right over the show--again, very easy and cuts down on a lot of needless travel. If you want to do a character breakfast and make good use of time, get an ADR at Crystal Palace for around 8:00 a.m. and then when breakfast is finished you will be let out into the park about 9:00 a.m. and beat a lot of crowds. We used this strategy one year and we were able to hop on Dumbo before the crowds made it up to the ride.

The day you go to Epcot, pick an Epcot restaurant.

After that, consider some resort dining on the days you are at water parks.

So, plan you parks first, then your food.

 

[tinkerbell60]

If I were you I would review the menus on www.allears.net and then narrow your choices for each park and meal you think you will be eating there. You can look at the calendar on WDW.com to see how late the parks are open the days you will be there, this might help with your planning too. That would get you started. I wouldn't recommend making duplicate ADRs - I think the system won't allow it or they might cancel one on you.

The only character meal that is 2 TS is Cinderella's Royal Table, all others are only 1 TS.

I don't know anything about the Food and Wine Festival.

Hope that helps.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

I second the vote for looking over the menus on allears. There may be some that you definetely do not want after reading their selections. Also on that same site, you can read the dining reviews.

We're on the dining plan, so I had to select 7 table services and 7 counter services. I can see why you are confused if some of your meals are going to be off-site.

Here's what we ended up deciding on. It's totally a personal preference.

Table service:
Garden Grill character lunch - Epcot
Rose & Crown - Epcot
Coral Reef - Epcot
LeCellier - Epcot
Sci-Fi - MGM
50's Primetime - MGM
Tony's - MK

Counter Service:
Pinocchio Village Haus - MK
Columbia Harbor - MK
Cosmic Rays - MK
Tusker House - AK
Sunshine Seasons - Epcot
Wolfgang Express - Downtown Disney (heard this is the best pizza at Disney)

Also we're doing breakfast at Rain Forest Cafe at AK.

A close second was the Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge. Your son might like that.

Have fun making your plans!

 

[Silverbelle990]

Here are my favs

MK~ Cinderella's Castle Dinner (Prime Rib that melts in your mouth!!! )
Epcot~ Tepanyakki....love the cook in front of you
MGM~ 50's Prime Time
Sci-Fi...Great service and food


These places i go to every time and i love them.....If i had to pick one it would be Cinderella's....To Die For!!!!!

 

[KAMommy]

My "must do's" - Le Cellier, O'hana, and Chef Mickey's.

I would also echo the planning ideas. We figure what days we will be in each park and plan eating accordingly. If there is a day we don't want to plan to that extent, we reserve at someplace like O'hana (in a resort on the monorail line) so we can do a park and easily eat then go back to a park. I would not make double reservations that I keep up until close to time to go.