Grade My Dining Itinerary

[LadyLaLa]

We just booked our next trip, which will only be 4 months out since our free dining trip. I lot of people said that it could get boring to take another trip that soon... I don't see the validity in that because we love Disney. So we are on the deluxe dining and loved the majority of the restaurants we ate at but decided to switch things up and try some new ones while retaining only four repeats, if possible.

So "grade" my reservation line up... I just want to know what you think of the restaurants we picked and what would you pick differently.
**Keep in mind we have a 2 year old who loves characters!!**

Day 1: Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr breakfast; Hollywood & Vine Minnie's Holiday Dine
Day 2: Chef Mickey Breakfast, Be Our Guest Lunch, Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner
Day 3: Biergarten Lunch; The Garden Grill dinner
Day 4: Tusker House breakfast, Yak & Yeti Lunch, Boma dinner
Day 5: O'hana breakfast, Crystal Palace dinner

New for us on this trip will be The Minnie Holiday Dine, Chef Mickey, Liberty Tree Tavern, Biergarten, Garden Grill, Tusker House, Yak & Yeti, and Boma.

I wouldn't mind giving up the Disney Jr. breakfast since we have already been there, done that but I'm not really sure what to trade it out for... Is there a resort that serves a great breakfast that we won't have to travel around the "world" to get to... (We'll be at POP).

 

[mrsjoannh13]

Day 2 seems heavy in terms of time spent dining. Even though BOG is QS for lunch it might take a while. Pre-order to save time.

I also have planned to do H&V breakfast and dinner for character interaction for DD. Just second guessing myself on this as I've not read good things about H&V.

If you wanted to try for something else in Hollywood Studios, I've seen openings for 50s Prime Time and that would be my second choice if we swap. otherwise your choices look great - you should have an incredible time!

 

[LadyLaLa]

Hey! Thanks for weighing in! I do agree that Day 2 is heavy on dining, but I can't talk my husband out of his BOG lunch.

I too was worried about H&V after reading reviews but we enjoyed it on our last trip. Our waitress seemed a little snippy at first but she got better by the end.

 

[tomatecerise]

2 table service a day is lot of food. I am a big eater and can't do this. They have very good counter service where you can sit and take your Time too.

 

[LadyLaLa]

I know it's a lot of food but my son doesn't get a meal plan so he eats off both of our plates. It does seem like a lot but we did it on our last trip and it was fine. We don't finish our meals but it was nice to have to time together at meals. We rarely get meals together at home.

I really wanted opinions on the restaurants. We were "warned" about having too many TS for our last trip and found that the people who warned us wished they had our dining plan. The TS restaurants are just better than most of the quick serve in quality and nutrition. We had a quick serve that was all fried foods and I was sick. I just like the TS better in majority of the situations.

 

[tomatecerise]

With a toddler it's perfect to take your Time and relax

We do Boma in may and the food tasted sweet. All the food tasted sweet. The meats tasted sweet, salads are sweet... We don't love It but great variety of food. Not impress with zébra domes They taste just... Sweet lol!

The broccolini is quite good! The chocolate bread pudding too (but very sweet lol!)

 

[LadyLaLa]

Yeah our trip was the best. My husband I spent a lot of time just browsing stores and talking during my son's nap time. The time spent together away from school and work brought us all closer and I believe that's why I couldn't wait to plan the next trip. Disney is such a nice break from reality, especially when you've paid most of the expenses up front.

Now, I'm glad you told me about Boma so I know what to expect. I've cut sugar almost completely out of my diet and that may be a shock to my system.

 

[Amy Stepp]

I had H&V breakfast and dinner last year on the same day. The breakfast was way more enjoyable than the dinner; However, the dinner you have planned is Minnie's Holiday Dine so I agree that is a good choice. Maybe to keep from double dipping with H&V, try Cape May Cafe breakfast at The Beach Club. It is close to Hollywood Studios and is also a character meal.

 

[rainboots]

We did H&V breakfast, and while it was not the best food/service ever, seeing the girls reactions (6, 3, 1.5) to their favorite characters was a highlight of our trip! Worth every penny!

We also had deluxe dining then and I loved it! It was wonderful to sit down and take a break & enjoy one another! We did have credits leftover, so we have downgraded for the next trip & I miss it already!

 

[Mrs. P. Charming]

I am trying the Sci-Fi breakfast for our upcoming trip in December. Maybe you and your family would enjoy that in place of Disney Junior since you were considering replacing it. My favorite character out of park is 1900 Park Fare and in the park I like Crystal Palace and Tusker House has a good breakfast. It seems with you being on deluxe dining you will have extra credits. You might be able to add a deluxe. Like Cinderella's Royal Table or better yet Yachtsman Steakhouse or Narcossies maybe Cali Grill so your child can see the view from above.

 

[Hawkeyegirls]

I have tried some of the ones your doing. We really like Chef Mickeys, its a classic to us. Tusker House took a good 2 hours to see all the characters, but the food was really good and different options. Hollywood & Vine I did not like the food at all or the atmosphere, but my daughter liked dancing and interacting with Jake and Sofia.
The Minnie Holiday dine sounds so great, I wanted to book a trip this year just for that, lol. I hope it continues next year!

 

[constantstar]

Personally we couldn't do that many TS/buffets while at Disney. But, I do understand wanting a reserved table & meal - especially with the often lack-luster QS options around. We have 2 TS booked for 1 day during our stay but they're spaced far apart. Since you've done it before, you'll be fine.

Out of your options, I've only had H&V and Crystal Palace. Neither was very enjoyable for me due to mediocre food and rushed service/characters. I've heard great things about each though so maybe our experiences weren't the norm. My husband liked CP more than I did and as mentioned going back our next trip.

Tusker House took a good 2 hours to see all the characters, but the food was really good and different options.

Did they hurry you out? When we went to H&V for lunch, the characters took forever and the wait staff tried to get us to leave before my daughter saw Sophia. We were able to meet her in the middle of the restaurant which was nice but awkward. We've booked Tusker for our next trip and I look forward to meeting everyone and trying the foods. But, I hate feeling rushed.

 

[Nancyg56]

I think that you are Buffet/AYCTE heavy on this trip. I si your choice but you asked.

I see that you are going to meet the characters and you sure will do that, but if it was my family, we woudl eep the character meals, but skip any buffet that was not and schedule a meal that we did not need to help ourselves to.

 

[Hawkeyegirls]

Did they hurry you out? When we went to H&V for lunch, the characters took forever and the wait staff tried to get us to leave before my daughter saw Sophia. We were able to meet her in the middle of the restaurant which was nice but awkward. We've booked Tusker for our next trip and I look forward to meeting everyone and trying the foods. But, I hate feeling rushed.[/QUOTE]

It was longer than we wanted to stay, we were in a separate room and we were done eating before Any of the characters even came in the room to start their dance & meet & greet. So no they weren't pushy, but Im sure that's why. It could happen at any TS place though. Its the luck of when/where you are seated! I would go back again!

 

[LadyLaLa]

Who do you see at Tusker? I only know of Donald.

We had a decent experience at H&V. It was my son's first character experience so he was a little timid. The dancing was the best part for him. I think the dancing slows the characters down a lot.

 

[Nancyg56]

Who do you see at Tusker? I only know of Donald.

We had a decent experience at H&V. It was my son's first character experience so he was a little timid. The dancing was the best part for him. I think the dancing slows the characters down a lot.

When we went Donald. Daisy, Minnie and Mickey were there. i think Goofy, but cannot be sure.