HELP, I do not know what to do...

[firsttime]

This is our first trip with me, hubby and 6 and 7 year olds. I have been reading these boards for a few weeks. What I learned is I need to plan our meals. I was hoping to just go with the flow everyday and try to get Cindy breakfast reservations. Now I feel like I should be making other ressies also.

Please help I am sooo confused about how much planning I should do. I have NO knowledge about any resturants or what is kid friendly and not expensive. Please any ideas or hints would be greatly apperciated.

Thanks

 

[SnowWitch]

Step1 go to www.wdwig.com and scroll down to menus. You will find the most extensive list of dining options on Disney property. They include prices also which will make it easier.

Step 2 If you plan on doing one sit down meal a day I would make a PS for it. In the summer depending on crowds waits for seating in the better places can be time consuming. Le Cellier I have yet to get into with no PS, maybe I have bad luck.

Don't stress to much lots of people go with no PS's. I don't in the summer monthes though.

All places are kids friendly with the exception of V&A's. I have found most of Disneys fast food places cheaper than Turner field food.

Good luck!

 

[BabyMo]

Hi!

You have to check out this site: http://www.wdwig.com/dining.htm

You can find menus for all the restaurants in the parks and resorts. They include prices so you should be able to budget and find the places in each park that interest you.

I planned my first trip to WDW last year and Deb's site an this place helped so much!

 

[wdwobsessed]

First .. take a big breath. You have a great recource right here on the DIS!

If you have not done so yet check out wdwig.com There you will find menus and prices on everything, plus tons of other WDW information.

Whether you make PS or not depends much on when you are going ... peak season or off season?

We like to make on PS a day ... and if we need to cancel it or change it we do that later. At least we know we have somewhere to eat that evening with minimal wait.

We have kids and never went anywhere sit down without a PS. They just don't have the patience to wait.

What time of year are you going?

wdwo

 

[songbert]

P.S.'s and you can wing it the rest of the time! It really depends on when you are going. I like to "fly by the seat of our pants" on vacation to avoid the overplanning which makes me crazy

For this trip, it's going to be crowded, so I took the great advice from these boards and made 2 lunch and 2 dinner P.S.'s for the week that we will be there. You can always cancel them if it doesn't work out once you get there (except for CRT and those requiring a credit card to reserve).

Make having fun your number one priority so you can enjoy the Magic!!

 

[mrsR123]

I agree with the testimonials above for Deb's site, wdwig.com. Also, we've been happy with the information in the Unofficial Guide book.

I usually make one ps per day. We tend to do several character meals while we're there for two reasons: 1) the kids and I really like the character interaction and 2) although the prices might seem high, we feel that the variety of food, including fresh and cooked fruit and veggies, give me a fighting chance to get some reasonably healthy fare in to their systems. Being out of the hot sun and humidity during the summer for the time it takes for a buffet is a real energy and spirit saver for our family, too.

Some of our favorites include: Crystal Palace, Ohana, and Chef Mickey's. We've also eaten at the Garden Grille, Kona Cafe, Resaurant Marrakesh, and the San Angel Inn and been happy with them all!

 

[mrsR123]

I agree with the testimonials above for Deb's site, wdwig.com. Also, we've been happy with the information in the Unofficial Guide book.

I usually make one ps per day. We tend to do several character meals while we're there for two reasons: 1) the kids and I really like the character interaction and 2) although the prices might seem high, we feel that the variety of food, including fresh and cooked fruit and veggies, give me a gifhting chance to get some reasonably healthy fare in to their systems. Being out of the hot sun and humidity during the summer for the time it takes for a buffet is a real energy and spirit saver for our family, too.

Some of our favorites include: Crystal Palace, Ohana, and Chef Mickey's. We've also eaten at the Garden Grille, Kona Cafe, Resaurant Marrakesh, and the San Angel Inn and been happy with them all!

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there...

What I would do first is plan a basic itinerary of what you would like to do during your stay

(ie) arrival day - just relax by the pool

Day One - Magic Kingdom

Day Two - EPCOT

Day Three - Blizzard Beach/Disney quest

etc.. etc...

Sketch a rough outline of the order of parks... once you do that you can start with some meals - (ie) a fun character breakfast one morning

The day you are at MGM - you might want to stop in for a shake and a burger at the Sci Fi diner... maybe book a PS for that.

There are lots of counter service restaurants - you don't need PS's for these - if you decide while you are there that you want to dine somewhere you can still call or drop by to make a PS for later or even see if they are accepting walk-ins - you might get lucky.

Don't stress out about having every meal planned - I have maybe 1 PS a day booked for my trip - and other meals/days we will wing it.

Read the trip reports on the trip report board and the restaurant reveiws on the restaurant board... new ones are posted all the time.

Have fun planning - it suppose to be fun!

>>^..^<<

 

[mickeymost]

I have to agree with those above. I usually try to make one PS per day also. Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey are two of the PS's I always make. It's great to have one on one time with the characters instead of having to wait on line to see them in the parks.

 

[Maggi May]

..chiming in with all of the great advice already offered...
--- making one PS reservation a day worked well for us both financially (we grazed on milk/cereal/fruit/cheese and crackers/nutrigrain bars/ and healthy fast food such as rotisserie chicken and sandwiches the rest of the day) and mentally (we didn't feel like we had to be at certain places at certain times all throughout the day, but instead felt like we had planned one special meal each day).
--- Take advantage of the atmosphere of the Disney resorts. We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort, but aside from a quick food court visit, ate at other resort restaurants to try something different and enjoy the ambiance. The Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian Resort and Wilderness Lodge are great places to book dinner.
--- the Unofficial Guide to Disney World (available at most bookstores) was an invaluable resource for planning our trip. It has a detailed section on restaurants and how the PS system works. Definitely worth the investment.

The sections on advice for planning with children are especially well-written. One tip I thought was neat was from a parent who made a big production of stocking a box of "goodies" to take on the trip. The snacks included juice boxes, fruit roll-ups, trail mix, cereal bars, raisins a few bits of junk food, etc. The kids were allowed to raid the box and fill their waist packs with whatever they wanted for the day, and allowed to graze from it at anytime during the day.

 

[firsttime]

Thank you for the great advice. We are going in Sept. so I am hoping the crowds are thin!!!

 

[jel0511]

I just wanted to add, if you plan on doing character meals, make a PS for those. They tend to book up quickly, regardless of season, and trying to get in as a walk-up either requires a long wait, or getting turned away. Read the thread posted at the top of this board on how to get ressies at Cindy's. They are difficult to obtain, and sell out in mere minutes.

 

[MulanMom]

I'll make PSs for difficult character meals like CRT and SPB, and maybe for a particular restaurant *if* I know we'll definitely be somewhere at a certain time. However, for the rest of the meals, we are pretty much flexible. We've done spring break over the past two years, and have done pretty well with this system as well as during the off-season. As our day or week unfolds and we have a better idea of where we will be, we make our PSs the day before or even the same day, if at all. For example, before leaving MK for a monorail resort, we'll contact WDW-DINE or check with guest services about making a PS so we don't waste a trip to the resort.

There have been times, very few, where we have not been able to get into our desired restaurant at our desired time, but in those instances we've always been able to find an alternative. Places like Le Cellier will actually help you locate reservations elsewhere if you don't want to wait as a walk-in.

Eating at off-peak times helps, too. Just this past April, as we were walking around World Showcase, a CM from Le Cellier was standing out on the promenade drumming up business for the restaurant. Must've been around 5 or so, because during the latter half of our meal, the restaurant started filling up.

We've also had some great spontaneous meals by not preplanning everything. One night we were in FW around 5-6pm, just looking to grab a quick bite in The Land food court. That night, FW was closing at 6 so we thought the full service restaurants also closed. We noticed the Garden Grill was still open with people just being seated so we walked over and had ourselves a great character dinner!

HTH!

 

[crisi]

We like to make one PS per day as well.

Something else that works well for us is park hopping or resort hopping. I don't know that I've EVER been to Epcot in the morning - we are always heading over in the afternoon and then staying for dinner. Likewise, MK tends to be a morning park (unless we are staying for Spectromagic or something), we are usually out of there by 1:00. If we are at MK late, we like to eat dinner at the monorail resorts.

We've had mixed luck with spontaneous meals. Sometimes its worked out great. Other times I am about ready to eat my hand as we've checked the third restaurant with an hour long wait, or just plain old turning away people at the door, and end up with chicken fingers or burgers.

 

[mommystieg]

We also schedule our PS' around our park days and we try to have about 1 PS per day. That way you know there is at least one meal that you won't be eating chicken fingers and fries. As the other posters have said-visit Deb's site and check out all the menus and that will give you some idea of the dining options available. We also do quite a few character meals for the same reason as mrsR123-good character interaction and a variety of food. These boards are a great source of information and don't be afraid to ask lots of questions--we all love sharing our Disney experiences with others. Happy planning